Outreach, Treatment, and Recovery: Understanding and Evaluating an Outreach, Treatment or Recovery Intervention

It has been proven through a range of international studies, that evidence-based substance use treatment which addresses the needs of clients, is effective in reducing substance use, improving lives, and saving money. To achieve this, a range of treatment approaches that address client needs are required. This chapter provides a summary of these approaches and how to choose on to meet your needs. A description of this tiered system of treatment provision is described. The chapter also provides guidance on how to audit or evaluate your service, how to decide what is important to measure; where to access data for your audit or evaluation and how many clients you may need to include in order to have a rigorous and credible study. A step-by-step template to assist you with this aspect is also provided. Finally, a practical guide illustrating the numbers of clients you may need in your evaluation is also provided. Two detailed case studies are provided as examples.