title: Register data in the evaluation and program planning of addiction treatment programs: using Sweden as an example.
abstract: Data from large-scale registers is often underutilized when evaluating addiction treatment programs. Since many programs collect register data regarding clients and interventions, there is a potential to make greater use of such records for program evaluation. The purpose of this article is to discuss the value of using large-scale registers in the evaluation and program planning of addiction treatment systems and programs. Sweden is used as an example of a country where register data is both available and is starting to be used in national evaluation and program planning efforts. The article focuses on possibilities, limitations and practicalities when using large-scale register data to conduct evaluations and program planning of addiction treatment programs. Main conclusions are that using register data for evaluation provides large amounts of data at low cost, limitations associated to the use of register data may be handled statistically, register data can answer important questions in planning of addiction treatment programs, and more accurate measures are needed to account for the diversity of client populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. Electronic address: bjorn.blom@socw.umu.se.
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Blom
authors.affiliation: DM-STAT, One Salem Street Suite 300, Malden, MA 02148 USA; Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118 USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Dukes
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden; Center for Addictions Research and Services, Boston University School of Social Work, 264 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215 USA.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lundgren
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118 USA.
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D016730:Program Development / Q000379:methods; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Addiction treatment programs; Large-scale registers; Program evaluation; Register data; Strategic planning