Development of a routine outcome monitoring instrument for use with clients in the New Zealand Alcohol and other Drug treatment sector: The Alcohol and Drug Outcome Measure

This paper describes the development and evaluation of the Alcohol and Drug Outcome Measure (ADOM), a brief 18-item, two part, outcome monitoring instrument designed for routine use with clients in the New Zealand Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) treatment sector. The development of the ADOM was informed by an expert panel of AOD clinicians (n = 6), key informant interviews (n = 14) and a pilot with AOD treatment clients and their respective clinicians (n = 25). The psychometric properties of the ADOM were tested with clients (n = 63) across a range of AOD treatment services. Testing involved clinicians administering the ADOM at treatment admission, one-to-seven days post-admission, and four-to-six weeks post-admission. Analyses of the test-retest reliability, concurrent validity and sensitivity to change of Part A of the ADOM, covering type and frequency of substance use, consistently produced excellent results. Comparable results for Part B of the instrument, covering associated psychosocial issues, were generally satisfactory. The ADOM has the potential to be used as a core AOD outcomes monitoring instrument.