UWS Government Publications Blog

These research findings were published September 2010.

“This review of the drugs evidence base was commissioned by the Scottish Government on behalf of the National Drugs Evidence Group. The main aim of the review was to show where the evidence base is already strong, what the evidence tells us and what we still need to know to support Scotland’s National Drugs Strategy, The Road to Recovery: A New Approach to Tackling Scotland’s Drug Problem. It examines both the published evidence base and the policy context in which the strategy sits and this provides the link between the evidence base for addictions and the wider social, health and economic context in which recovery occurs. The review set out to assess what we know about ‘what works’ in drugs recovery and identify the core questions that need to be answered when assessing the effectiveness and impact of The Road to Recovery.

Main Findings

• The evidence base on recovery is growing, demonstrating that recovery-focused approaches can augment and enhance treatment interventions, and maximise wider benefits to families and communities.
• There is little UK-based research on recovery and the international evidence base is limited by three factors – much of it is quite dated, much of it is based on alcohol or mental health rather than illicit drugs, and almost all of the evidence originates from the United States.
• In the drugs research field, there is a considerable history of treatment effectiveness cohort studies and these consistently show significant improvements for clients in treatment services across a range of indicators including health, offending, risk-taking and substance use.
• Differences in the effectiveness of different forms of abstinence-oriented treatment (such as community detoxification and residential rehabilitation) have been less consistently researched and reported.
• With the exception of one medium-term (33 month) outcome study (Drug Outcome Research In Scotland – DORIS), there is little longitudinal treatment research in Scotland and very little clinical research activity. Thus, the evidence base is largely derived from English and international findings and from ‘expert’ reviews and policy guidance.
• However, there is a clear need for ‘technology transfer’ research to determine what can be learned from other settings, particularly mental health recovery and the substance misuse recovery experience in the United States, and to test its applicability to the drugs field in Scotland.
• Findings from this review emphasise: 1) the importance of providing ongoing support to individuals following structured treatment; 2) the positive outcomes associated with mutual aid and peer support in the community; and 3) the importance of assertive follow-up support as aftercare.
• The review highlighted an evidence gap on the impact of drug treatment aftercare in Scotland and there is a need for research and evaluation on this in the future.
• The overall consensus of key experts working in the drugs field, who were consulted as part of the review, was that a clear strategy is needed for developing a Scottish evidence base that will both inform the delivery of The Road to Recovery and assess its impact.
• The findings from this research could help to inform the commissioning and delivery of services in Scotland, the establishment of recovery-focused outcomes and indicators, and the involvement of service users and communities in developing knowledge about recovery and service provision.”

The full review is also available.