Organizational factors related to AIDS/HIV education in outpatient substance abuse treatment units.

The association of HIV and AIDS with intravenous drug use is well documented. Given this, substance abuse treatment providers must figure prominently in any effective national response to HIV/AIDS. The strategies employed by human service managers to address AIDS may be important in explaining how substance abuse treatment units implement policies and programs concerning AIDS-related prevention services. This paper utilizes data from the National Drug Abuse Treatment System Survey to examine how strategic activities concerning AIDS/HIV undertaken by outpatient substance abuse treatment unit managers impacted the provision of preventive AIDS-related services to clients. Results of multiple regression analysis indicate collaboration with other human service organizations and environmental scanning activities are important variables in explaining variation among substance abuse treatment units in the provision of AIDS prevention education to clients. Based on these findings, implications for future research and policy concerning AIDS prevention within the context of substance abuse treatment are made.