Scottish Drug Misuse Information Strategy

Scottish Drug Misuse Information Strategy

Introduction

1 The Scottish Drug Misuse Information Strategy set out in this paper has been fully endorsed by the Scottish Advisory Committee on Drug Misuse. It takes account of the recommendations on information in the Ministerial Drugs Task Force, the options illustrated in the report "An Improved Information Framework for Drug Misuse in Scotland" prepared by the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency (ISD, Scotland) and puts them in the context of the UK Information Strategy. Both the UK strategy and a report on drugs information by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs recognise that Scotland requires its own information strategy to support its distinctive needs and policy. ISD has been commissioned to drive forward the strategy.

Purpose

2 The strategy aims to establish a coherent structure for the long term availability of appropriate information in support of evidence based decision making.

"Information"

3 For the purposes of this paper "information" is defined as material which (1) provides quantitative measures of the nature and scale of drug misuse or (2) supports interventions aimed at tackling the consequences of drug misuse. This paper does not deal in detail with the arrangements for generating the information material, although the proposed co-ordination arrangements described at paragraphs 15 and 16 aim to provide a structure within which data collection and research activities have some regard for the information strategy and Government priorities. A research strategy is being considered separately by The Scottish Office Department of Health in conjunction with the Scottish Advisory Committee on Drug Misuse.

Key Principles

4 A key principle of this drugs information strategy is that it supports the implementation of current Government policies, and provides a basis for monitoring their application and continuing appropriateness. Important aspects are the development of Government policy; the framework for the delivery of services to drug misusers as contained in The Scottish Office guidance "Planning and Provision of Drug Misuse Services"; and the impact of interventions on the wider community. Ideally, core information should be collected which allows like for like comparisons between the different parts of the United Kingdom. In due course appropriate comparisons with other parts of Europe should be possible.

Applying the Information Strategy

5 Given practical considerations and resource availability, an evolutionary approach to applying the information strategy is required. The cornerstones in implementation are:-

clarity about the target users and information priorities;

a coherent structure for the delivery of the strategy including, critically, the storage and dissemination of information material;

arrangements for co-ordination of effort to minimise the scope for information activities which do not address priorities or involve duplication; and

improving the access of key information users to information on drugs through easily accessible directories and databases of information, including utilising the Internet.

Target Users

6 An information strategy can only be successful if it meets the requirements of those who use it. That requires clarity about who the users should be. Against a background of emphasis on Government requirements, the key target users for the purposes of the information strategy are seen to be:-

Government Ministers and officials;

Drug Action Teams and their constituent agencies, including Health Boards, local authorities, police and the prison service;

those commissioning and providing drug misuse services;

the voluntary sector;

national bodies such as the Health Education Board for Scotland, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Scotland Against Drugs and the Scottish Drugs Forum;

the academic community and others involved in the generation of research/information material; and

the wider community, including employers.

Information Priorities

7 Priority is given to the following 6 information categories in support of the above users:-

national objectives;

national and local performance measurement and trend statistics;

drug policies and local co-operation/co-ordination;

prevention and education - outcome effectiveness and cost effectiveness;

care and treatment - outcome effectiveness and cost effectiveness; and

drugs and the wider community, including community safety.

8 In due course the availability of information to reflect the European dimension is likely to be significant. However, the precise requirements here are unclear and European requirements are not a priority category at this stage. If, as expected, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) develops core indicators to monitor the situation in Europe, The Scottish Office like all Government Departments will seek to adapt the information strategy and minimum data requirements to meet European needs.

9 In applying these categories it is essential to distinguish between information which is of national significance and that which is mainly relevant to the local scene. The importance of regular trend data, providing indicators of progress over time needs to be recognised.

10 Absolute priority is being given to information activities in support of national objectives. The Scottish Office guidance "Planning and Provision of Drug Misuse Services" (see paragraph 4) sets out strategic objectives and key performance/activity indicators for drug misuse. These constitute the basis for a common core of drugs information and they should be taken into account by local agencies in addressing information needs in support of local service delivery. There is undoubtably advantage in the collection of core information at local level which can be aggregated to national level. This will be a matter for further consideration by ISD in consultation with local planners and the further testing, and refinement, of key performance/activity indicators will be an important part of ongoing work by ISD during implementation of the strategy.

11 The arrangements should allow sufficient flexibility to cater for changes in information requirements over time, and accommodate consideration of the relevance of new thinking on data priorities. For example, greater significance might be given to prescribing data in the analysis of trends in drug misuse. Information requirements flowing from Scotland’s participation in UK drugs strategy, and in particular from the work of the UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator, will also need to be taken into account.

User Needs

12 The focus is on the practical needs of Government, the Drug Action Teams and those commissioning and providing services, as users of information. Information should not be collected for its own sake. It is essential that the information collected is what users want and can use. Before any information is collected there should therefore be clarity about demand and end use. And care should be taken to ensure that existing information and collection arrangements are fully explored before new requirements are set in motion.

Structure

13 The structure for delivery of the information strategy provides for the execution of the following 5 key information tasks:-

compilation and dissemination of key drug misuse information, including work on the development of the Scottish Drug Misuse Database, and annual production of key drugs statistics;

preparation and dissemination of key indicator data including key performance indicators in support of monitoring work on national objectives;

focal point for information on prevalence and effectiveness;

information support for The Scottish Office, Drug Action Teams, commissioners and those delivering services; and

liaison work with the Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence (ISDD) and EMCDDA, including Internet - Bulletin Board issues.

14 ISD is responsible for information services to the National Health Service in Scotland and has been commissioned as the provider in support of these key information tasks. The tasks build on ISD’s current work in support of the Department of Health, and as already formalised in the service level agreement between The Scottish Office Department of Health and ISD. The tasks identified build on the current work and constitute the long term work programme for the full development of the information strategy on behalf of all the organisations involved in the multi-agency approach to tackling drug misuse and as resources permit. ISD are currently planning the delivery of these tasks.

Co-ordination

15 In executing the key information tasks - in particular in acting as a focal point on prevalence and effectiveness - ISD will be in a position to co-ordinate information tasks on behalf of The Scottish Office. This work involves:-

working closely with others with an interest in drugs information;

encouraging collaboration at national and local level to reduce duplication of activity, building on information already available, promoting standardisation, comparability, complementarity and consistency of information;

setting up a suitable forum, and other communications, with those responsible for the generation of information material, and target users, to promote information activities consistent with the strategy and to ensure that findings are appropriately communicated to target users; and

identifying gaps in information and how they might be filled.

16 With such a plethora of information sources and interests there is need to maximise co-ordination of activity. With this objective in mind ISD will establish an Information Forum to discuss and advise on strategic issues concerning the development of drug misuse information. Membership of the Forum will be initially drawn from organisations which have a strategic or national role in the generation of drug misuse information. Links with other bodies, including those outside Scotland, would need to be established and ISD will be looking closely at membership.

17 A Forum established under these arrangements should not have any responsibility for commissioning information material as a result of deliberations. But ISD could make recommendations to existing funding bodies if gaps in information requirements arose.

Directories and Databases of Information

18 A key aim of this information strategy is to meet the information needs of Drug Action Teams (DATs). This is particularly important as DATs become increasingly involved in decisions on commissioning and the delivery of services. ISD will be asked to advise on potential projects to support the work of the DATs, including the following possibilities:-

funding of a pilot study with selected DATs to identify their information needs;

development of a directory of information providers in Scotland;

development of a directory of drug prevention organisations and projects;

development of a regularly updated good practice guide for DATs with an emphasis on community based drug prevention approaches; and

adaptation of ISD's annual digest of drugs statistics to reflect the particular needs of DATs, purchasers/providers and to facilitate some comparisons.

19 Generally, information for DATs needs to be made available on the basis that they require information for specific purposes rather than for its own sake. Information in raw form is unlikely to be useful to them. The requirement is for information which has been interpreted, summarised and presented in a readily digestible form. DATs should primarily be information users rather than information providers. They should firstly be looking to constituent agencies and others to generate the information. However, DATs should consider identifying a person or agency in their area to be responsible for identifying sources of drug misuse information and for dissemination.

Information from the Internet

20 ISD will be establishing an Internet Web-site as part of the implementation of the strategy. The key target groups for information disseminated in this way would, broadly speaking, be those listed at paragraph 6. In terms of the information strategy, priority would be given to the information categories outlined at paragraph 7. A key priority would be making information available in this way to the DATs, commissioners and providers. In planning for this objective, equipment and technical assistance has been made available to the DATs. Information collected by ISD in supporting delivery of the information strategy will be made available. That might be supplemented by information available from other sources such as ISDD and EMCDDA. In this way the most up to date information on local drug policies elsewhere in the UK and Europe might be made available.

21 Making information available in this way opens up the possibility of providing access to a wide range of drugs information in a relatively cost effective way. There are obvious opportunities - information on prevalence; outcome and cost effectiveness; and research, particularly where frequent updating is valuable. Other possibilities, of many, might include information on needs assessment; drug surveys; commissioning advice; mapping of local drug related activity; and funding information. DATs might set up their own Web sites for local information purposes and to communicate with other DATs on matters of mutual interest, to share information or to secure information on interventions or outcomes from others.

22 Across the categories of information, needs might be met (for example) at 4 levels of enquiry on the Web:-

news
core (eg basic information and statistics, frequently asked questions, seminal texts)
good practice
expert (eg scientific literature, research).

Information services might be supplemented by collective discussion groups through E-mail messaging/Internet conference facilities.

Timing

23 The strategy is being implemented from 1 April 1998.

Review

24 The strategy will be reviewed on an annual basis by The Scottish Office Department of Health.

Public Health Policy Unit
The Scottish Office Department of Health
April 1998

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