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The goal of the CECA/CCSA Treatment Indicators Project is to demonstrate the value of a national addictions treatment data collection and analysis system in Canada, and to outline the steps required to achieve such a system. The inability to generate a comprehensive perspective on substance abuse treatment has long been recognized as a major impediment to effectively monitoring the nature and extent of substance abuse-related problems, and has been a barrier to creating more efficient responses to dealing with these problems.
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A 2005 report by CCSA, Addiction Treatment Indicators in Canada: An Environmental Scan, contended that addiction treatment generally appears to be only loosely integrated and coordinated with overall efforts to improve information and communication technology in Canada's health sector. The report pointed to an absence of discussions around standardizing reporting requirements or around issues of compatibility in Canada's addictions data systems. It recommended steps be taken to develop a comprehensive national picture of substance abuse treatment activities.
CCSA shared the report with the Canadian Executive Council on Addictions (CECA), which reviewed it at a meeting in mid-2005. In subsequent meetings CECA agreed to support CCSA's recommendations, and to endorse and help fund a formal National Treatment Indicators Working Group in partnership with CCSA. The Working Group met for the first time in March 2006 and outlined three projects that are expected to advance the collection, dissemination and analysis of substance abuse treatment data in Canada.
The projects will be carried out over a two-year timeframe beginning in 2006-2007. Brian Rush, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Ontario, and Dr. David Marsh, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority in B.C., have agreed to participate as special scientific advisors to the Working Group.
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Details |
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Project 1:
Documenting and Assessing the Current Status of Substance Abuse Treatment Services in Canada
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Project 1, Documenting and Assessing the Current Status of Substance Abuse Treatment Services in Canada, will describe service categories, treatment demand and supply, access issues, wait times and other organizational issues as defined in federal, provincial and territorial treatment jurisdictions. The project will use a "model" treatment continuum developed by Wayne Skinner, Deputy Clinical Director, Addiction Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), to identify gaps in treatment systems.
The project lead is Patrick Smith, Senior Advisor, Mental Health and Addiction Services, B.C. Health Services Authority; and Head, Addiction Psychiatry Division, University of British Columbia. He will be assisted by Deborah Ross and Derek Lefebvre of the Centre for Research and Knowledge Exchange, B.C. Mental Health and Addiction Services. Their paper and the "model" treatment continuum paper will be available at a National Framework Thematic Workshop on Treatment, Oct. 24-25, 2006, in Toronto, co-hosted by the B.C. Provincial Health Services Authority and CAMH. |
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Project 2:
Developing a System for Comparing Substance Abuse Treatment Data in Canada
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Project 2, Developing a System for Comparing Substance Abuse Treatment Data in Canada, seeks to create a matrix for cross-jurisdictional comparisons of basic "treatment episode" data on numbers of clients served in each service category, identification of primary and secondary problems, substances, and basic client demographics such as age, gender and race.
This project will be led by CCSA Senior Policy Analyst Gerald Thomas whose prototype report using 2004-2005 data is due early in 2007. |
Project 3:
A Qualitative Analysis of Barriers to Implementing Substance Abuse Treatment Data Collection Systems in Canada |
Project 3, A Qualitative Analysis of Barriers to Implementing Substance Abuse Treatment Data Collection Systems in Canada, will examine barriers to implementing data collection protocols, and develop at least one analysis using existing data to show how these data can be used to improve system performance. Dr. Thomas is the project lead and his report will be developed during the second year of the project starting April 2007. |
Addiction Research Centre, Correctional Service Canada (CSC)
Addictions Foundation of Manitoba (AFM)
Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC)
British Columbia Health Services Authority
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA)
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) (Ontario)
Department of National Defence (DND)
First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB), Health Canada
Health Canada
Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Health and Community Services
Nova Scotia Health Promotion and Protection
Pavillon Foster Alcohol, Drug and Problem Gambling Rehabilitation Centre (Quebec) |
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