Co-producing addiction aftercare
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and delivery of an aftercare programme called Learning To Live Again, which was co-produced between service users and clinic staff.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 37 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 project stakeholders who were service users, mentors, university and clinical staff. The data were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings
Four overarching themes were identified in the analysis of interview data as characterising the process of co-producing an aftercare programme. These were: achieving common ground, roles and responsibilities, the activities programme and the road to recovery. Interdependence of service users and clinicians was given strong emphasis.
Practical implications
A number of challenges arise in co-producing an aftercare programme which is largely service user led and adds to the local recovery capital. The benefits of co-producing aftercare outweigh the difficulties and the programme can be set up within existing resources. Given the study's focus on the process of setting up and maintaining an aftercare programme, no attempt was made to evaluate the improvement in outcomes or cost-effectiveness.
Originality/value
Many peer-mentor-led aftercare programmes have been set up and this paper describes stakeholders’ thoughts about the challenges and benefits of co-producing an aftercare programme.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Adele Loftus, LTLA Project Co-ordinator, for providing information on the range of activities and the number of service users attending, Lily Prestwood for assisting with data collection and analysis. Two funding streams are acknowledged. First, the project was awarded Flexibility and Sustainability Funding allocated to Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust by the Department of Health. The project was also carried out as part of independent research funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) through the NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care for Leeds, York and Bradford. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, NIHR or the Department of Health. The NIHR had no role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.
Citation
Tober, G., Raistrick, D., Fiona Crosby, H., Sweetman, J., Unsworth, S., Suna, L. and Copello, A. (2013), "Co-producing addiction aftercare", Drugs and Alcohol Today, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 225-233. https://doi.org/10.1108/DAT-05-2013-0024
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited