Addiction services benefit from outcome measure

Community addiction services are lucky to have ADOM (alcohol and other drug outcome measure).

It has been a privilege for me personally to have been involved with ADOM from its inception to its present collection and use. The sector wanted this measure and now we have it!

This simple outcome tool has been developed in New Zealand for our own addiction practitioners.

ADOM has three sections:

• section 1 has 11 questions focused on type and frequency of use
• section 2 has seven questions about lifestyle and wellbeing 
• section 3 has two questions on satisfaction with recovery.
  

ADOM has several uses:

• it can help to inform and shape treatment
• assist tāngata whai ora to view their own progress
• provide practitioners with a way of reviewing plans and goals collaboratively
• enable organisations and services to assess their own performance at team, service, region and national levels.

ADOM is mandated for collection by the Ministry of Health and so information from ADOM (at admission, review and discharge) goes into the national data collection for mental health and addictions (known as PRIMHD).

However, I do want to stress that what really makes ADOM special is that it is completed in a collaborative manner between practitioners and tāngata whai ora and there is a simple feedback tool to enable people to view their progress.

This month we have available the most recent national ADOM report (report 8) and an infographic highlighting some of the main findings. All previous reports and training material are available on the ADOM section of the Te Pou website. Check these out and also check out next month's e-bulletin where we will have details of the new online ADOM e-learning module.