Table 3.1 Overview of adult learning evaluation tools Evaluation tool Country / example (Yes/No) Type of content – what the tool evaluates and how The context in which it is used – where and who with? Value placed on the evaluation tool and why Other comments / link to tool Appropriateness for informing RECOVEU evaluation tools Evaluation of prevention sessions in EAP (Employee Assistance Programmes) Romania (Yes) Set of questions to find out opinions and suggestions about the training delivered. Mix of tick box and Participants on drug recovery programmes. Some questions used to inform the RECOVEU course feedback forms. Training evaluation measure Romania (Yes) Set of open-ended questions for feedback on the usefulness of specific training. Participants on drug recovery programmes. Some questions used to inform the RECOVEU course feedback Proposal of Evaluation Form to complete) (Yes) learning, Vocational Guidance (Drug addiction) This tool is used by staff to evaluate the effectiveness of the training and/or vocational guidance interventions. This tool is very useful to monitor the interventions and make corrections. Adapted by SANSAT from the Balance of Competences Skills Assessment (used nationally in and France – for interventions addressed to drug addicts). Asks basic questions designed for trainer to record participants’ responsiveness to adult learning course. Not relevant for RECOVEU. Evaluation by participants (for each module) Italy (Yes) Adult learning, Vocational Guidance (Drug addiction) Participants are asked to fill this tool express their satisfaction level with a learning module. Useful to monitor the interventions, understand the of participants and make corrections. Asks basic questions on effectiveness of learning module. Used to inform the RECOVEU course feedback forms. Self-evaluation template Italy (Yes) Adult learning, Vocational Guidance (Drug addiction) This tool has to be filled by participants: they are to Very useful both for participants (to reflect on Mixed questions about school and job
(participant to complete) evaluate their motivation and their level of active participation. own attitude) and trainers. experiences and feedback on module attended. Does not assess motivation. Last few questions used to inform RECOVEU course feedback forms. – Progress Framework Tracking Pack Ireland (Yes) Tracks adult learning and progress across 5 different skills groups (read words/texts, read signs/symbols, rules of reading/grammar, find information on documents, reading strategies for different purposes) 1:1 with service providers completing the form. Rarely used – it is very comprehensive and too time consuming. Service users would need to be with the project for a long time for this to be used. Educational based tool that drills down to very specific questions on tasks learnt (e.g. read own name and address). Too specific and for RECOVEU. Soilse In-house Evaluation Ireland (Yes) In-house evaluation tool. Highlights and critiques how servicer users experience a programme, the assets they gain and how things can be changed in the future. Group settings/discussion – asks for group responses to four open-ended questions about relationships, skills, the service, and improving quality. Based on ‘A Model of Best Practice’ from the UK National Institute of Social Work. This of group discussions was used for the Follow-Up Session course feedback from participants.
Table 3.2 Overview of addiction recovery evaluation tools Evaluation tool Country / example (Yes/No) Type of content – what the tool evaluates and how The context in which it is used – where and who with? Value placed on the evaluation tool and why Other comments / link to tool Appropriateness for informing RECOVEU evaluation tools Recovery Capital Scale (William White) UK (Yes) 35 questions (scored 1-5, strongly disagree to strongly agree) that identify which areas a person would like to work on in terms of increasing recovery capital. The questions are useful and used commonly as a self-measure. Used in some residential settings in the UK as an addiction specific QoL (quality of life) measure – there are no records around who may use this. There is a range of literature to support this scale but it is unlikely that anyone is trained in working with it in the UK sector. See: This is appropriate for RECOVEU but the updated version of the scale by David Best (see next row in table) might be more appropriate as it has subscales for personal and social recovery. Assessment of Recovery Capital (ARC) (David Best) UK (Yes) Ten subscales, each having 5 questions – respondents answer ‘yes’ is a specific statement applies to them. Relatively new scale – psychometric properties assessed in: Groshkova, T., Best, D. and W. (2013). The assessment of recovery capital: Properties and psychometrics of a measure of addiction recovery strengths. Drug Used for RECOVEU. Permission for use received from David Best.
and Alcohol Review, 32, 187-194. ITEP (international Treatment Effectiveness Project) – Node Link Mapping Tools UK (Yes) Mapping-based intervention for helping keyworkers and clients identify effective treatment goals. Allows for self-assessment working with a practitioner to evaluate progress in recovery and treatment journey. No clear records of which services use these but community drug treatment settings would aim to have some element of mapping in the process. Maps considered effective, if time is available. Issue with time available to complete the process – 10-20 minutes is a 'good' appointment slot but these are unusual – practitioners are so ‘client-loaded’ they do not have time to complete these forms fully in the community. See: This is NHS/BTEI care planning manual for mapping achievable goals. Tool for mapping treatment/progress. Not relevant for RECOVEU. TOP: Treatment Outcomes Profile UK, Ireland (Yes – July 2013 vs) (Same form used in UK and Ireland) A mandatory tool for services to measure outcomes and report to the National Drug Treatment Monitoring Service (NDTMS) which has moved to Public Health England. Evaluates levels of substance use, injecting risk behaviour, crime, All services funded by NHS and Public Health England. To be completed by a keyworker 1:1 interview with client. UK – completed by a generic case manager who has no contact with the client. UK – seems to be only used for data gathering. Ireland – It is a useful international validated tool and a way to capture progress in terms of drug use and crime. It is used in a lot of services in Dublin and was developed in UK. It is a little subjective as it scores how people are Public Health England collects a range of data and also absorbs the data regarding drug treatment. Mandatory data gathering tool. Ireland use this to assess progress. Not relevant for RECOVEU.
health and social functioning. Ireland – 1:1 assessment as part of recovery process. Completed: At assessment Halfway into the programme At programme end 6 months after programme is complete feeling on the day and not an overall picture of how they are managing recovery. Soilse use this as one of their evaluation tools for all service users. Drug Avoidance Self-Efficacy Scale (DASES) UK (Yes) Designed to assess a client’s recovery – an individual’s confidence in their ability to successfully cope with risk situations without using drugs. 16-item self-report questionnaire. Clients imagine themselves in a particular situation and rate self-efficacy to resist drug use. Was developed for a specific range of projects. So far has been restricted to 16-30 age group (but seems appropriate for older group). Available at EMCDDA Evaluation tool bank: (scale can be used without charge). Formatted version at: Has been to demonstrate predictive validity (on 16-30 ages). Lengthy to read/complete because it gives hypothetical situations. 7-point scale is not practical for small group analysis. Not relevant for RECOVEU as not looking at recovery self-efficacy.
Rosenberg Self-Esteem (SES) UK (Yes) 10-item self-report measure of global and university-dimensional self-esteem. Statements relate to overall feelings of self-worth or 4-point scale (strongly agree – strongly disagree). 5 minutes completion. Has also been administered as an interview. Has demonstrated good reliability/validity across a number of different sample groups. Has been validated for use with male, female, adolescent, adult and elderly populations. Validated for use with substance abusers and other clinical groups, and is regularly used in treatment outcome studies. Might be some issues with cultural bias due to comprehension and/or translation, although the scale has been widely used in cross-cultural studies. Available at EMCDDA evaluation tool bank: Also: The SES is in the public domain. No permission needed to use the measure. Used for RECOVEU to measure general pre- and Personal questionnaire (SOCRATES and SOCRATES UK (Yes) 32-item questionnaire for drug user’s ‘significant others’ to complete. There are a number of different types of SOCRATES scales that are used to consider Used widely in residential treatment around the UK. Male and female versions. Practitioners report as useful in starting conversations. Available at EMCDDA evaluation tool bank: Not relevant for RECOVEU as it is not used by the service user or provider.
relationships, impact of drug use, and reactions to different scenarios. WHO (World Health Organisation) Quality of Life-BREF version UK (Yes) An international comparable QoL assessment instrument. 26 items across 4 domains (physical health, social relationships, environment). Self-report measure. (BREF version is the shorter version of the original instrument). Reported use in residential and community treatment. Reported as a helpful method to aid discussion around QoL with people in treatment. Details available at: To obtain permission to use, email: User agreement available at: Can get free download through above site (1997) but not formatted properly (also scoring syntax). Need permission to use – user agreement lasts for one year. Questionnaires will be sent when this completed. Not used for RECOVEU as it does not fit into the overall structure of Have copy of field version/manual (2006): 2004 version: Maudsley Addiction Profile (MAP) UK (Yes) Evaluates overall addiction profile and measures response to interventions – a face-to-face structured interview undertaken at Often used in residential and more extensive community treatment settings (if staff have time available). The Maudsley is seen as a foremost authority on assessing addiction and treatment outcomes – Available at EMCDDA evaluation tool bank: The map is a public domain research instrument – can be used free of charge for organisation.
different stages through treatment – designed as an outcome research tool. The MAP measures problems in 4 domains: substance use, health risk behaviour, physical and psychological health, and personal/social functioning. Can be repeatedly administered at points during and after an index treatment episode. Changes in these measures can then be attributed to treatment or other processes over the intervening period. Gossop and Strang are key players in the Reference as: Marsden, J., Gossop, M., Stewart, D., Best, D., Farrell, M., Lehmann, P., Edwards, C. and Strang, J. (1998). The Maudsley Addiction Profile (MAP): A instrument for assessing treatment outcome. Addiction, 93(12), 1857-1867. Not relevant for RECOVEU as too long in this format. EuropASI – European Addiction Severity Index (Based on the Addiction Severity Index) Cyprus (Yes – have accessed through EMCDDA instrument list) This is a lengthy assessment tool that covers: social history, educational, family, judicial system, substance abuse, physical and sexual abuse history and employment history of the last 30 days, 90 days and 1 year. Face-to-face structured interview. client entering the inpatient phase of treatment. ‘The EUROPASI can be used for different purposes in assessing substance clients: a) to assess the problem severity of the interviewee, and b) for periodic repeated administrations to monitor and quantify change in This tool originated in the United States and is one of the most widely used and well researched testing tools around the world for substance abuse. For information and instrument see: ‘Designed to provide basic diagnostic information on a client prior, during and after treatment for substance use-related problems, and for the assessment of change in client status and treatment outcome.’ ‘The ASI is in the public domain’ – so can put link to this on RECOVEU site. Too lengthy for RECOVEU purposes and not report.
Multidimensional clinical and research instrument. Service-provider completes (takes 30-45 minutes). problems commonly associated to substance abuse.’ SCID – Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders Cyprus (No) Most comprehensive assessment tool to assess mental health including all of the psychiatric diagnosis. Semi-structured interview for making diagnoses. Administered by clinician or mental health professional. Used in the Counselling Centre before entering the inpatient and also repeated as need be. Widely used and accurate assessment of mental health. Many versions assessing mental health in different (including a Research Version, which contains more disorders). For background information and links to where can buy instruments see: and Available by permission only – need to pay fee to use instrument in research studies, clinical trials, training courses, etc. Can be modified by the researcher to remove unwanted elements. Not relevant for RECOVEU but could put link on website. Drinker Inventory of Consequences (DrInc-2L) Romania (Yes) History of use and inventory of consequences (over life time and previous 3 months) Pen/paper, face-to-face. 2 versions – yes/no responses; Likert (never to daily). Also short form. As part of the admission procedure and final discharge evaluation in the counselling programme – social worker/addiction counsellor completes. Could be used as a self-report questionnaire. Very important. Standard tool Available online. Test manual can be found at All versions included together with scoring (scores on different dimensions). 50 questions on consequences of drinking. Not relevant – RECOVEU is not focused on alcohol addiction.
testing and results. tool. gathering process for mandatory treatment monitoring and reporting. in the extent (prevalence and incidence) and patterns of problem drug use; ideally, in combination with drug indicators.’ (TDI Manual, p. 17) treatment facilities at the European level. Not relevant for RECOVEU. Pompidou Form (part of National Drug Treatment Reporting System) Ireland (Yes) EMCDDA – Pompidou. Collects mandatory data on demographics, assessment, treatment, substance use and treatment, risk behaviours. Individual – completed by service provider. Gets a baseline of information at assessment and also has an exit part to document. Data gathering tool for mandatory EMCDDA reporting. Not relevant for RECOVEU. Biopsychosocial Assessment Cyprus (No) This is an in-house assessment tool created to cover basic information on demographics and also requests information on education, social, family, incarcerations, substance abuse, work history. Used as initial assessment for client at the the Agia Skepi Counselling Centre and then again during the admissions process in the inpatient phase of treatment. In-house background data gathering tool. Not relevant for RECOVEU. Initial Evaluation Form Romania (No) Evaluates problems, history of use and resources on for any kind of addiction, Used as part of the admission procedure in the counselling programme. Social worker/addiction counsellor completes. Pen/paper, face-to-face. Very important In-house background data gathering tool. Not relevant for RECOVEU.
Final Evaluation Form Romania (No) Assesses progress in the SDP counselling programme, achievement of objectives from the intervention plan, and period of abstinence. Used as part of the final/ discharge evaluation in the SDP counselling programme. Social worker/addiction counsellor completes. Pen/paper, face-to-face. Very important In-house progress data gathering tool. Not relevant for RECOVEU. Follow-Up Evaluation Form Romania (No) Achievement of objectives from the ‘After care plan of action’. Completed minimum 3 months after discharge. Used as part of the intervention in the SDP counselling programme. Social worker/addiction counsellor completes. Pen/paper, face-to-face. Very important Is under development – SDP starting to use first drafts of the form at time of writing. In-house follow-up data gathering tool. Not relevant for RECOVEU. Holistic Needs Assessment Ireland (No) Assesses housing needs of service users. Individual self-report. Not available in electronic version – only paper copy. Not currently used – looking to roll out to services in the future. Data gathering tool. Not relevant for RECOVEU.