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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Increase the proportion of people who need alcohol and/or drug treatment who got treatment in the past year — SU‑01 Data Methodology and Measurement

On this page:  About this objective  |  Methodology  |  History

About this objective

Data

Data Source:  National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), SAMHSA

National baseline: 24.0 percent of persons aged 12 years and over who needed substance use treatment received treatment in the past 12 months in 2022

National target: 26.0 percent

Numerator
Number of persons aged 12 years and over who needed and received drug and/or alcohol treatment in the past 12 months.
Denominator
Number of persons aged 12 years and over who needed drug and/or alcohol treatment in the past 12 months.
National target-setting method
Minimal statistical significance
National target-setting method details
Minimal statistical significance, assuming the same standard error for the target as for the baseline.
National target-setting method justification
Trend data are not available due to the NSDUH redesign. Data from 2022 cannot be compared or combined with data from previous years. The standard error was used to calculate a target based on minimal statistical significance, assuming the same standard error for the target as for the baseline. This method was used because it was a statistically significant improvement from the baseline. The Workgroup Subject Matter Experts viewed this as an ambitious yet achievable target.

Methodology

Questions used to obtain the national baseline data

(For additional information, please visit the data source page linked above.)

From the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health:

Numerator:
The next questions ask about help you may have received for your alcohol or drug use, not including nicotine or tobacco. During the past 12 months, have you participated in a support group for your alcohol or drug use?
  1. Yes
  2. No
During the past 12 months, were you seen in an emergency room or emergency department for your alcohol or drug use?
  1. Yes
  2. No
When you received the following help in the past 12 months, was it for your alcohol use only, your drug use only, or for both your alcohol and drug use?
  1. Alcohol use only
  2. Drug use only
  3. Both alcohol and drug use
The next questions ask about professional counseling, medication, or other treatment you may have received for your alcohol or drug use where you stayed overnight or longer. This is sometimes called inpatient or residential treatment. During the past 12 months, have you stayed overnight or longer to receive professional counseling, medication, or other treatment for your alcohol or drug use in…
  1. a hospital as an inpatient?
  2. a residential drug or alcohol rehab or treatment center?
  3. a residential mental health treatment center?
  4. some other place where you stayed overnight or longer?
    • Please describe the other place where you stayed overnight or longer to received treatment for your alcohol or drug use in the past 12 months.
For which of the following substances did you stay overnight or longer to receive treatment in the past 12 months?
  1. Alcohol?
  2. Marijuana or cannabis products?
  3. Inhalants such as: amyl nitrites. Poppers, locker room odorizers, or rush, correction fluid, degreaser, or cleaning fluid, gasoline or lighter fluid, glue, shoe polish, or toluene, halothane, ether, or other anesthetics, lacquer thinner or other paint solvents, butane or propane, nitrous or whippits, felt-tip pens, felt-tip markers, or magic markers, spray paints, computer keyboard cleaner, or air duster, other aerosol sprays,or other inhalants?
  4. Hallucinogens such as: LSD or acid, PCP, angel dust, or phencyclidine, peyote, mescaline, psyilocybin (found in mushrooms), Ecstasy, Molly, or MDMA, Ketamine, "Special K", or "Super K", DMT, AMT, or Foxy, Salvia divinorum, or other hallucinogens
  5. Cocaine or "crack"?
  6. Heroin?
  7. Methamphetamine?
  8. Prescription pain relievers?
  9. Prescription stimulants?
  10. Prescription tranquilizers?
  11. Prescription sedatives?
  12. Some other drug?
    • Please type in the name of the other drug for which you received treatment in the past 12 months.
Professional counseling, medication or other treatment can also be provided without needing to stay overnight. This type of care is called outpatient treatment. During the past 12 months, have you received outpatient professional counseling, medication, or other treatment for your alcohol or drug use at…
  1. a drug or alcohol rehab or treatment center as an outpatient?
  2. a mental health treatment center as an outpatient?
  3. the office of a therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, or other substance use treatment professional?
  4. a general medical clinic or doctor's office?
  5. a hospital as an outpatient?
  6. your school's health or counseling center?
  7. some other place as an outpatient?
    • Please describe the other place where you received outpatient treatment for your alcohol or drug use in the past 12 months.
For which of the following substances did you receive outpatient treatment in the past 12 months?
  1. Alcohol?
  2. Marijuana or cannabis products
  3. Inhalants such as: amyl nitrites. Poppers, locker room odorizers, or rush, correction fluid, degreaser, or cleaning fluid, gasoline or lighter fluid, glue, shoe polish, or toluene, halothane, ether, or other anesthetics, lacquer thinner or other paint solvents, butane or propane, nitrous or whippits, felt-tip pens, felt-tip markers, or magic markers, spray paints, computer keyboard cleaner, or air duster, other aerosol sprays,or other inhalants?
  4. Hallucinogens such as: LSD or acid, PCP, angel dust, or phencyclidine, peyote, mescaline, psyilocybin (found in mushrooms), Ecstasy, Molly, or MDMA, Ketamine, "Special K", or "Super K", DMT, AMT, or Foxy, Salvia divinorum, or other hallucinogens
  5. Cocaine or "crack"?
  6. Heroin?
  7. Methamphetamine?
  8. Prescription pain relievers?
  9. Prescription stimulants?
  10. Prescription tranquilizers?
  11. Prescription sedatives?
  12. Some other drug?
    • Please type in the name of the other drug for which you received treatment in the past 12 months.
The next questions are about prescription medication you may have used to cut back or stop your alcohol use. These medications are different from medications given to stop an overdose. Some examples of these medications include:
  • Acamprosate, also known as Campral
  • Disulfiram, also known as Antabuse
  • Naltrexone pills, also known as ReVia or Trexan
  • Injectable naltrexone, also known as Vivitrol
During the past 12 months, did you use medication prescribed to you to help cut back or stop your alcohol use?
  1. Yes
  2. No
The next questions are about prescription medication you may have used to cut back or stop your drug use. These medications are different from medications given to stop an overdose. Some examples of these medications include:
  • Methadone
  • Buprenorphine or buprenorphine-naloxone pills or film taken by mouth, also known as Suboxone, Zubsolv, Bunavail, or Subutex
  • Injectable buprenorphine, also known as Sublocade
  • Buprenorphine implant placed under the skin, also known as Probuphine
  • Naltrexone pills, also known as ReVia or Trexan
  • Injectable naltrexone, also known as Vivitrol
During the past 12 months, did you use medication prescribed to you to help cut back or stop your drug use?
  1. Yes
  2. No
During the past 12 months, have you received any professional counseling, medication or treatment for your alcohol or drug use from a therapist or other healthcare professional over the phone, or through video?
  1. Yes
  2. No
During the past 12 months, did you receive any professional counseling, medication, or other treatment for your alcohol or drug use while you were in a prison, jail or juvenile detention center?
  1. Yes
  2. No
During the past 12 months, have you received detoxification services, or detox, from a health care professional to manage symptoms of withdrawal from your alcohol or drug use?
  1. Yes
  2. No
During the past 12 months, have you received help from a peer support specialist or recovery coach who works with a substance use treatment program or other treatment provider?
  1. Yes
  2. No
When you received the following treatment services in the past 12 months, was it for your alcohol use only, your drug use only, or both your alcohol and drug use?
  1. Professional treatment over the phone, or through video
  2. Treatment while you were in a prison, jail or juvenile detention center
  3. Detoxification services, or detox for symptoms of withdrawal
  4. Peer support specialist or recovery coach
During the past 12 months, did you seek professional counseling, medication, or other treatment for your alcohol or drug use?
  1. Yes
  2. No
Other than the help you already reported receiving, did you seek additional professional counseling, medication, or other treatment for your alcohol or drug use in the past 12 months?
  1. Yes
  2. No
During the past 12 months when you sought additional professional treatment, was it for alcohol use only, drug use only, or both alcohol and drug use?
  1. Alcohol use only
  2. Drug use only
  3. Both alcohol and drug use

Methodology notes

Historically, NSDUH data have included substance use treatment at a "specialty facility" in the past year as part of the definition for whether people needed substance use treatment. With the changes to the questionnaire in 2022, the term "specialty facility" was dropped from 2022 NSDUH data products.

Currently, respondents are classified as needing substance use treatment (i.e., treatment for the use of alcohol or drugs) if they met the criteria for a substance use disorder as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), or they received treatment for their alcohol or drug use through inpatient treatment or counseling, outpatient treatment or counseling, medication-assisted treatment, telehealth treatment, or treatment received in a prison, jail, or juvenile detention center. Respondents who reported using alcohol or drugs in their lifetime were asked the substance use treatment questions. See Section 3.4.5 in the 2022 Methodological Summary and Definitions report for additional details.

Substance use treatment includes help that people received for their alcohol or drug use at an inpatient location where people stayed overnight or longer (a hospital as an inpatient, a residential drug or alcohol rehab or treatment center, a residential mental health treatment center, or some other place where people stayed overnight or longer); at an outpatient location where people do not need to stay overnight (a drug or alcohol treatment or rehab center as an outpatient, a mental health treatment center as an outpatient, the office of a therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, or mental health professional, a general medical clinic or doctor's office, a hospital as an outpatient, the respondent's school health or counseling center, or some other place as an outpatient); through receipt of medication-assisted treatment for the use of alcohol or opioids; over the phone or through video (i.e., telehealth treatment); or in a prison, jail, or juvenile detention center.

History

Comparable HP2020 objective
Retained, which includes core objectives that are continuing from Healthy People 2020 with no change in measurement.
Revision History
Revised. 

In 2024, the baseline was revised from 11.1% in 2018 to 24.0% in 2022. The target setting method was revised from projection to MSS. The target was revised from 14.0% to 26.0% using the new target setting method.
Trend issues
Trend data are not available due to the NSDUH redesign. Data from 2022 cannot be compared or combined with data from previous years. The standard error was used to calculate a target based on minimal statistical significance, assuming the same standard error for the target as for the baseline. This method was used because it was a statistically significant improvement from the baseline. SAMHSA started multimode data collection (in-person and web-based collection) for the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) beginning in Quarter 4 (i.e., October to December) of 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 NSDUH is based on both in-person and web interviews. Prior to 2020, NSDUH data are based on in-person data collection alone. The 2020 NSDUH included only 2 quarters (Quarters 1 and 4) of data collection unlike the four quarters of data collected in other years. Several analyses were conducted to investigate the impacts of these and related methodological issues on estimates for 2021. Using the outcomes of the comparability analyses, the following decisions were made regarding the 2021 NSDUH data. * Estimates from 2021 cannot be compared with those in 2019 or prior years because estimates from a multimode year are not comparable with estimates from a single-mode year. Estimates of change from 2019 or earlier to 2021 would probably be too greatly influenced by the mode effect. * Because of effects on estimates when some quarters of data are excluded or missing, 2020 estimates (based on two quarters of data) cannot be compared with those of any other year, including 2021. Using only 2 quarters of data may yield a different trend than use of 4 quarters of data. * NSDUH data from 2021 should not be combined or compared with any prior data. *Substance use treatment questions underwent considerable revision for the 2022 NSDUH. With the changes to the questionnaire in 2022, the "specialty facility" term was dropped from 2022 NSDUH data products.