Drug Program Evaluation: Outcome Measures

Abstract

This paper outlines a method of outcome evaluation which allows for a client to be tracked throughout a treatment episode, so that a client's behavioral status can be assessed while remaining in treatment. This method is congruent with the treatment philosophy which underpins most drug abuse programs. It is illustrated that the Client Oriented Data Acquisition Process (CODAP) which is currently employed to collect data to be used to evaluate the effectiveness of drug abuse therapy violates the theoretical assumptions of the out-patient treatment environment, which can result in the effectiveness of drug treatment being seriously underestimated. Since program evaluation is gaining in importance in drug abuse programs it is suggested that this tracking method be employed for that purpose, in that even as a “quickie” evaluation methodology it will produce more accurate data for evaluation purposes than the CODAP system, simply due to the fact that an internal tracking system is consistent with the treatment assumptions of the out-patient therapeutic environment.