Evaluation of Consumer Participation Demonstration Projects in Five Australian Drug User Treatment Facilities: The Impact of Individual Versus Organizational Stability in Determining Project Progress

Abstract

This project evaluated consumer participation projects in five drug user treatment services in metropolitan and regional areas in three Australian states. Qualitative interviews were conducted with staff and consumers at two time points between from 2010 (n = 108). At baseline staff and some consumers focused on the stability of consumers to undertake representative roles. At postimplementation, the focus was on the stability of the organization, as frequent staffing changes and lack of adequate handover affected the progress of the projects. These issues combined with the perceived “noncore” status of consumer participation resulted in none of the projects achieving all of their agreed goals.

RÉSUMÉ

Évaluation de projets pilotes de participation des consommateurs de drogue dans cinq centres de traitement Australiens : l'impact de la stabilité individuelle et organisationnelle dans l‘avancement des projets

Ce projet a évalué la participation des consommateurs de drogue dans 5 services de traitement situés dans des zones métropolitaines et régionales de trois états australiens.

Entre et 2009, 108 entretiens qualitatifs on été réalisés auprès d’équipes et de consommateurs à deux moments différents des projets. Lors de l'entretien initial, les équipes ainsi que certains consommateurs mettaient l'accent sur l'importance de la stabilité des consommateurs pour entreprendre des rôles de représentants. Après implémentation du projet, l'accent était plutôt mis sur la stabilité de l'organisation parce que des changements d’équipes fréquents et un manque de passation adéquat des dossiers affectait la progression des projets. Ces problèmes, combinés avec le statut non central donné à la participation du consommateur, ont eu pour conséquence qu'aucun des projets n'a réussi à remplir les objectifs qu'ils s’étaient fixés.

RESUMEN

Evaluación de proyectos de demostración de los consumidores con la participación de cinco instalaciones de tratamiento de drogas en Australia: el impacto de la estabilidad individual frente a la organización para determinar el progreso del proyecto

Este proyecto evalúa los proyectos de participación de los consumidores en cinco servicios de tratamiento de drogas en las áreas metropolitanas y regionales en tres estados australianos. Entre –2010, se realizó entrevistas cualitativas con el personal y los consumidores. Personal de base y algunos consumidores se centraron en la estabilidad de los consumidores para llevar a cabo funciones de representación. En la post-implementación, la atención se centró en la estabilidad de la organización, como los cambios frecuentes del personal y la falta de adecuada entrega de procesos, esta afectandó la marcha de los proyectos. Estos temas junto con la percepción de “no básicos” estado de participación de los consumidores dio lugar a que ninguno de los proyectos lograran todas sus metas acordadas.

Keywords :

• consumer participation
• drug treatment
• evaluation
• qualitative research
• organizational factors

THE AUTHORS

Carla Treloar, Associate Professor, is Deputy Director and Head of the Hepatitis Research group at the National Centre in HIV Social Research at the University of New South Wales. Carla is also a member of the New South Wales Ministerial Advisory Committee on Hepatitis and the Australian Ministerial Advisory Committee on blood borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections and a member of numerous advisory committees for government, health agencies, and nongovernment organizations. She has a background in multidisciplinary research across social and health psychology and public health. Her work covers risk and prevention, chronic illness and treatment, and the use of mixed and innovative methods. Carla is committed to the effective translation of research into policy and practice and to ethical and respectful conduct of research in close collaboration with affected communities.

Jake Rance joined the National Centre in HIV Social Research following nearly a decade working in harm reduction services in Sydney's Kings Cross, including a number of years as the Counseling Unit Manager of the Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre. Jake is part of the Hepatitis C team and is currently working on a project investigating the histories of long-term injectors who have remained hepatitis C negative.

Annie Madden is currently the Executive Officer of the Australian Injecting & Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL) that is the national peak organization representing people who use illicit drugs and those on opioid pharmacotherapy programs in Australia. She has been working in the areas of illicit drug use, HIV, hepatitis C, peer education, and drug user representation for 20 years. Annie has a degree in the social sciences majoring in politics, gender representations, and Asian societies and cultures. She is currently undertaking a postgraduate law degree with an interest in drug law reform, human rights, and international law. Annie has many years of experience in representing the consumer perspective in research including as a coinvestigator, author, and coauthor of published articles and as a member of both project advisory committees and scientific advisory boards for major national research centers in Australia.

Laura Liebelt is currently the Senior Research and Policy Officer at the AIVL, AIVL is the National peak organization representing the state and territory-based drug user organizations and issues of national significance for illicit drug users. Prior to her current position, she worked for several years in the drug and alcohol sector, more recently as a research officer and then associate. She has worked at the Drug and Alcohol Office of Western Australia, the National Addictions Centre at Kings College London, and the National Drug Research Institute before she commenced working at AIVL.