Review of Welsh Substance Use Strategy

Working Together to Reduce Harm: The Substance Misuse Strategy for Wales 2008-2018 was the Welsh Government’s response to established negative consequences of alcohol and other drug use. It outlined an agenda for tackling and reducing the harms associated with substance misuse in Wales. The aim of this review was to assess whether observed outcomes were attributable to the actions implemented from the Strategy.

Contribution Analysis was used to evaluate the strategy; this is a process that helps to demonstrate the impact of initiatives within a multi-partnership environment, emphasising the outcomes. By gathering multiple forms of evidence, the method establishes an account of contributions where direct causal attributions are not possible. It was proposed that it is reasonable to conclude that the policy is influencing the desired outcome if:

• There is a theory of change for the policy
• Proposed activities were implemented as planned
• The theory of change is supported by evidence
• The results are as expected in the proposed sequence
• Other influences have been accounted for

Whilst analysing the Strategy’s impact, six themes were considered:

• Prevention
• Harm reduction
• Treatment
• Family interventions
• Availability
• Partnership working

The review team from Glyndwr University and Figure 8 Consultancy explored the international literature, Welsh-specific data and guidance, and consulted with key stakeholders to test the impact of the theory of change.

Key Findings

1. A devolved response to the consequences of alcohol and other drug use was found
2. The strategy concentrated on harm reduction
3. There were significant improvements in coordination, partnership, and monitoring over the Strategy term
4. Evidence of improvement in delivery and financial accountability
5. Evidence of short-term outcome success
6. Limited evidence of long-term outcome impact
7. Evidence supports many, but not all of Welsh Government’s prioritised activities
8. Researchers suggest more Service User involvement that is inclusive and representative
9. Researchers applaud the progress yet identify challenges for the future

Key considerations for future implementation

1. Continued partnership working
2. Maintaining continued support for harm reduction and useful accountability of activity
3. Allowing for Service Users to have a greater role in recovery agendas across policy and practice

Read the full summary report and the full final report for more details.