Child-oriented Drug Counseling in Germany: Evaluating the Implementation of the Program “Fitkids” and Its Association with Readiness for Change

ABSTRACT

Fitkids aims to promote child-oriented drug counseling. This study evaluates its implementation by focusing on child-oriented counseling at the organizational and employee level in 15 newly recruited (before and after implementation) and 10 pilot centers (4–5 years after implementation). Associations of readiness for change facets with outcomes of successful implementation were investigated. Four out of five organizational-level outcomes changed after implementation, were higher in pilot sites, and were associated with readiness for change facets (e.g., willingness to change, change fatigue, activity latitude). Fitkids has the potential to promote child-oriented counseling. Addressing organization’s readiness for change helps to tailor its implementation.

KEYWORDS:

• Drug counseling
• child and family social work
• readiness for change
• organizational development
• implementation

Highlights

• Drug-counseling centers do not sufficiently take into account children’s needs

• Child orientation in drug counseling increases children’s healthy development

• Child orientation must be successfully implemented in the drug-counseling centers

• The Fitkids program aims to promote child-oriented drug counseling in drug-counseling centers through organizational and employee development

• Organizational-level outcomes of child orientation (e.g., structures or standards considering children’s needs within the organization) changed after implementation of the Fitkids program and were associated with readiness for change facets (e.g., willingness to change, change fatigue, activity latitude).

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all drug-counseling centers for participating in the survey. We are grateful to Auridis gGmbH for funding this research. We would like to thank J. Kons and S. Groß for paving the way to this study.

Authors’ contributions

H. Pfaff and L. Ansmann designed the survey. K. Hower and L. Ansmann conducted the survey. K. Hower and T.K. Pförtner are responsible for the data analysis for this paper. S-Y. D. Lee helped with the overall conceptualization and provided a critical review of the paper. All authors contributed to writing the manuscript.

Availability of data and material

The data analyzed in the study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Consent for publication

The consent for publication is part of the declaration of consent.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study received ethics approval from Medical Ethical Committee of the University Clinic of Cologne. Consent to participate was obtained from all the participants in a written consent form.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

Funded by the Auridis gGmbH, a non-profit funding organization supporting disadvantaged children.