Health-Related Quality of Life on Community Supervision: A Health-Status Portrait of Community-Based Offenders with Substance Use Disorders

• In Event: The Intersection of Public Policy and Service Needs Among Vulnerable Populations

Abstract

Medical fields have long used the concept of Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) to gauge health and well-being. This construct is also used to understand decision-making in treatment compliance in various medical studies. However, HRQOL is rarely studied in criminal justice, and has nearly never been examined in community offender populations. Using baseline data from a primary research study of the role of health status in substance use treatment compliance conducted in a Northeastern urban city, HRQOL will be examined in a sample of offenders supervised in the community who have substance use disorders. HRQOL is measured using the EQ-5D, a validated measure supported by NIDA. Health status in this sample will be compared to national health status averages and prison-based studies of HRQOL. Major correlations between HRQOL and other critical covariates to substance use treatment success will also be presented. Implications of these results will be discussed the context of other research on substance use treatment success in criminal justice populations.

Authors

• Leah Kathleen Hamilton, Temple University

• Steve Belenko, Temple University