The development of a booklet on 'ice'
NDARC Staff
Paul Dillon and Rebecca McKetin
Aims
The aims of this project were as follows:
- To write, design and produce a brief and factual information resource for users of ‘ice’
- To develop an effective dissemination plan, in conjunction with the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing (AGDHA), for the ice resource
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the dissemination plan i.e. how easy is it for ice users to access the resource across different jurisdictions?
Design and Method
This booklet was written to cover the following topics: what the substance is, how it is used and its effects, perceived positive benefits and harms associated with use, issues around psychosis and overdose, different routes of administration and associated harms and tips on how to reduce use or quit.
The content was drawn from the literature on methamphetamine and recent research findings on the nature and harms associated with the use of crystalline methamphetamine, or ice. The draft content was pilot-tested with methamphetamine users. The pilot testing process included both non-injecting drug users who smoke ice and methamphetamine injectors.
A distribution plan was developed with the assistance of the AGDHA and all state and territory health departments. Distribution involved the mailing out of the booklet to one location in each state and territory. It was then up to the Health Department in each jurisdiction to distribute the resources as widely as possible.
The evaluation component of this project comprised 30 telephone interviews with a range of stakeholders from across Australia, including NSPs and drug user organisations such as AVIL and NUAA, to investigate whether the resource had reached the target group. Agency staff, both management and frontline workers, were interviewed for this component of the project. These interviews took place four months after the initial distribution and launch of the booklet. A brief report was delivered to the AGDHA.
Progress
The 'ice' booklet was written by NDARC and approved by the AGDHA and distributed across the country in mid 2006. An announcement was made on the ADCA Update that the booklet was available and the first print-run proved so successful that an additional 50,000 copies needed to be printed.
The following recommendations arose from the evaluation of the dissemination/distribution plan:
- The dissemination/distribution process implemented for this project be used for further resources developed by NDARC/AGDHA. It was also suggested that the AGDHA uses its central distribution house to follow up any initial launch of further resources.
- Two new resources need to be developed, these are as follows:
- A pocket-sized version of the ice resource – a brief version of On Thin Ice: A Users’ Guide.
- A pocket-sized version focusing on harm reduction tips should also be developed. Frontline workers are keen to have a resource that provides information to those users who are not planning to stop, so as to reduce the harm they are experiencing. Those interviewed suggested that this resource should focus on smoking messages.
- Further research needs to be conducted into how to reach frontline workers in a timely manner. Currently there do seem to be barriers in accessing ‘coal-face’ workers such as NSP workers, counselors and youth workers.
Output
On Thin Ice: A User's Guide (2006). Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.
Funding
Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing