The design of an evaluation model for an outpatient alcohol and drug abuse treatment program

This study presents a treatment outcome evaluation model designed for the Waterford Hospital Addictions Program, St. John's, Newfoundland. Because this program operates under the constraints of limited resources, the researcher endeavored to design a model that enables program personnel to conduct manageable but methodologically sound program evaluation. The following factors guided the development of the proposed model: (a) a review of the state of the art evaluation technology, and (b) a preliminary evaluation of the Addictions Program based on an analysis of present implementation policies and procedures, and on a survey of participants' perceptions of the program. The purpose of the survey was three-fold: (a) to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of the Addictions Program, (b) to provide a basis for selecting measures of treatment outcome success for inclusion in the proposed model, and (c) to determine the usefulness of the questionnaire (Appendix C) for inclusion in the proposed model. -- The model includes forms designed to facilitate the gathering and recording of information deemed necessary to demonstrate the impact of the Addictions Program on clients. The rationale for instrumentation and guidelines for implementation are provided