Planning to Evaluate a Methamphetamine Program/Strategy? What Are Some Challenges?

Difficulties in sharing information across multiple stakeholders require that evaluators address implementation issues before conducting usability and outcome evaluations.

Outdated mainframes, incompatible network systems, rules for information sharing, and varying definitions and standards among users can be obstacles to the successful implementation of Methamphetamine Programs/Strategies. An evaluator must be confident that information can be successfully shared between all potential users before attempting to assess the usability and impact of the information sharing/integration initiative or its outcomes. Hence, careful study of the information sharing/integration initiative implementation process must be conducted by the evaluator prior to conducting usability and outcome evaluations. Doing so will decrease the chances of obtaining misleading results or unusable data.

Evaluating a rural-based meth treatment program requires a thorough assessment of program implementation.

Meth treatment programs in rural areas face various challenges that may limit the involvement of those needing treatment and subsequently hinder successful program implementation. These challenges include: insufficient funding, inadequate social service and treatment resources, few specially trained practitioners, and inadequate transportation. Evaluators should carefully assess program implementation to identify whether the program is operating as planned.

Like other drug users, engaging and retaining meth users in treatment can be difficult, resulting in attrition in evaluation studies.

Meth abuse is often accompanied by physical and mental health problems. In addition, because of the high relapse rate, many meth users enter treatment more than once. Attrition from treatment should be accounted for in the evaluation design, as should the selection bias that may result from differences between those who dropout of treatment and those who remain.

The concurrent implementation of multiple approaches to address the production and use of meth in a community requires careful evaluation to identify what approach may be responsible for changes in the production and/or use of meth.

Many jurisdictions have recently implemented multiple strategies or strategies with multiple components to counter meth-related problems. In several cases, these strategies were implemented concurrently or within a short period of time. Simple pre-post designs, which do not control for the potential role of each strategy, are insufficient to determine which approaches are effective.

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