Drug Strategy Investment in Treatment And Recovery Evaluation

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Drug Strategy Investment in Treatment And Recovery (D-SITAR) Evaluation

  • IRAS ID

    337892

  • Contact name

    Jennifer Newbould

  • Contact email

    newbould@randeurope.org

  • Sponsor organisation

    RAND Europe

  • Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

    NIHR205228, Funder identifier

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 6 months, 15 days

  • Research summary

    The aim of this study is to gather evidence about how the United Kingdom’s 10-year Drug Strategy ‘From Harm to Hope’ Treatment and Recovery (T&R) funding has been used to improve services for people who use alcohol and other drugs over the first three years of the strategy. This evaluation involves qualitative interviews, focus groups and questionnaires. It has two parts: an overall process evaluation looking at how the funding has been distributed and used, and five evaluations looking five priority areas identified by the Department for Health and Social Care, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

    These areas are:
    • The housing support grant, which aims to provide extra support to people who use alcohol and other drugs to help them find a place to live;
    • The workforce transformation programme, which aims to create a sustainable treatment and recovery workforce and help reduce harm and sustain recovery from use of alcohol and other drugs;
    • The involvement of peer-led organisations in systems of care for people who use alcohol and other drugs;
    • Integrating drug and alcohol services with physical and mental health care;
    • The provision of long-acting medication that is used to treat opioid use.

    We will look at the T&R portfolio in several ways, with each evaluation tailored to each intervention and its research questions. We will use interviews and focus groups to find out more about the T&R portfolio, alongside questionnaires, review of documents, and case studies. The findings from this study will provide feedback on the first three years of the drug strategy to improve how it is delivered over the remaining years of the strategy, and to share learning and provide examples of good practice across local authority areas.

  • REC name

    Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds East Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    24/YH/0112

  • Date of REC Opinion

    7 Jun 2024

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion