About the Guidelines implementation Toolkit
This implementation Toolkit was developed to support AOD organisations implement the Guidelines on the management of co-occurring alcohol and other drug and mental health conditions in alcohol and other drug treatment settings (3rd edition) into practice. The Toolkit aims to assist organisational leaders to identify and address the following:
- evidence-to-practice gaps in relation to Guidelines recommendations;
- barriers to the implementation of Guidelines recommendations;
- implementation strategies and tools to address identified barriers; and
- processes for implementing and evaluating change.
Who is the toolkit for?
The toolkit has been developed for people working within AOD treatment settings who have the capacity to influence change, such as organisational leaders, service managers, clinic directors, quality assurance and improvement officers.
How to use the Toolkit
The Toolkit guides organisational leaders through a five-step implementation process for putting Guidelines recommendations into practice. Steps 1-4 inform the development and evaluation of an implementation work plan described in Step 5. Each step is accompanied by: i) guidance on how to complete the step; ii) an example of the step being completed in practice; and iii) implementation tools. The Toolkit is designed to be flexible and adaptable to individual AOD treatment settings, and guidance and tools do not need to be used prescriptively. Instead, organisational leaders can use their experience, judgement and expertise to apply the Toolkit within their local context.
There are two broad implementation approaches for using the Toolkit:
- The step-by-step approach involves working through each step of the Toolkit from start to finish. This approach may be suitable for organisational leaders seeking step-by-step guidance on how to develop an implementation project for Guidelines recommendations.
- The pick-n-mix approach involves using specific guidance or tools from the Toolkit based on organisational needs. This approach may be suitable for organisational leaders seeking guidance or tools to assist with an existing internal implementation or quality improvement project.