COMPLIANCE WITH TREATMENT AND FOLLOW-UP PROTOCOLS IN PROJECT MATCH - PREDICTORS AND RELATIONSHIP TO OUTCOME

Treatment and follow-up session attendance data from Project MATCH, a multisite clinical trial investigating patient-treatment matching, wer e analyzed to study compliance. High rates of compliance to both thera py and research protocols were achieved, enhancing treatment integrity and data quality. Strong baseline predictors of compliance did not em erge, and the small relationships found were consistent with reports f rom previous studies. Attendance at therapy sessions was moderately co rrelated with research follow-up participation. Treatment compliance p redicted drinking outcome, underscoring the importance of retaining pa tients in treatment. Future studies should examine the associations be tween compliance and structural features of the treatment environment, treatment delivery, and context-features that are often under the con trol of the clinician/investigator.