About
IHPS is an organized research unit established by the President and Regents of the University of California. The primary goals of IHPS are: to conduct policy-oriented research and analysis on a wide range of health issues; to apply research findings to health policy issues at the national, state, and local levels; and to provide education and training opportunities in health policy and health services research. IHPS faculty have their appointments in all four schools at UCSF (medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and dentistry). Faculty, research staff, and fellows represent and apply a broad range of clinical and social science disciplines and methods in their research and teaching.
Institute for Health Policy Studies
Postprints from IHPS (18)
Does Centralized Intake Improve Drug Abuse Treatment Outcomes?
This study was designed to assess whether centralized intake and assessment in a drug abuse treatment system would lead to improved outcomes. Clients entering treatment through a centralized intake unit (CIU) or through individual programs (non-CIU) were interviewed at admission, and at I month and I year postadmission. Interviews included measures of treatment access and satisfaction, psychiatric symptoms, social support, and Addiction Severity Index composite scores. At treatment entry, CIU participants had more employment and psychological problems and lower social support, were more often required to be in treatment, and were more often placed on a waiting list. In analyses controlling for baseline differences between groups, there were main effects of time, but no CIU status effects or CIU status by time interactions. The CIU may have improved access to treatment for a more disabled population; however, clients entering treatment through the CIU did not have better outcomes than those entering treatment directly.
How the tobacco industry responded to an influential study of the health effects of secondhand smoke
In 1981 an influential Japanese study showed an association between passive smoking and lung cancer. This article documents the tobacco industry's attempts to refute this study by producing a credible alternative study.