Towards structural quality indicators for intensive community-based care programmes for substance abusers.

Although the importance of structure for the quality of intensive community-based care was already acknowledged in the 1980s, the subject has not received much attention since. The object of this study was to identify the perceived structural quality indicators for intensive community-based care for substance abusers and expand a classification system in order to enable meaningful effect studies and to substantiate structure--outcome links. Using concept mapping based on a purposive sample of experts, seven clusters of structural quality indicators were identified. Finally, the validity of the classification system is discussed.