The Sax Institute is commissioning a rapid literature review to understand (i) what outcome domains are key among young people in alcohol and other drug treatment (AOD), and (ii) what validated measures / tools exist to assess these outcome domains.
The purpose of this Evidence Check will be to identify gaps in the outcomes assessed by the Australian Treatment Outcomes Profile (ATOP) to determine whether: (i) potential refinements or additions (if any) could enhance the utility of the ATOP for use among young people seeking AOD treatment; OR (ii) one or more outcome measures already exist that have demonstrated comprehensive coverage of key outcome domains, acceptability to the target population, and good psychometric properties when used among young clients of AOD services.
Expressions of interest close 5pm 16 May 2024.
The review will address the following questions:
- Question 1: What does the literature suggest are important outcome domains to assess among people aged <18 years who engage with voluntary AOD treatment of any type (e.g., counselling, case management, residential detox, residential rehab, opioid substitution therapy)?
- Question 2: What outcome measures have been used to assess this/these domains among young people aged <18 years engaging with AOD treatment?
- Question 3: How have these outcome measures performed when specifically applied to this cohort, in terms of comprehensiveness, acceptability, psychometric properties (including the ability to detect change over time in clinical treatment settings), modes of administration, formats, ease of administration and scoring, and capacity to generate clinically relevant feedback in the context of a clinical encounter.
- Question 4: Does the research evidence make different recommendations around application and use existing outcome measures based on the age of the young people under consideration? For example, are different recommendations made for younger people (e.g., 12-14 years) versus older people (e.g., 15-17 years) within the <18 year old cohort
A draft (complete) report for this Evidence Check review is required by 12 July 2024, and the final report by 12 August 2024.
If you would like a copy of the project brief for this review, please contact by email: alexandra.schiavuzzi@saxinstitute.org.au. Please use ‘EOI: 23-CAOD-20 Youth Outcome Measurement’ in the subject line.
Please feel free to circulate this opportunity to those who may be interested in this topic.
