The EMCDDA and the Reitox network: towards quality achievement

Sandrine Sleiman, Scientific Committee, Palmela, February 2008

Contents

• National focal points (NFP)

• Operating framework

• Challenges

What is a NFP?

An information interface between the Member State and the EMCDDA. The NFPs play a double role:

• ‘National authority’ for providing national drug information to the EMCDDA (under national responsibility)

• ‘Ambassador’ of the EMCDDA at national level (under EMCDDA guidance)

Role of Reitox

Mechanism for collecting and exchanging information between the EMCDDA and 30 countries:

• 27 EU Member States

• Norway

• 2 candidate countries

European Commission

Prevention & Re-habilitation ActivitiesCoordination Unit

The REITOX Network

Austrian HealthInstitute

Scientific InstitutePublic Health

National Board ofHealth

National R&D Centrefor Welfare & Health

French Observatoryfor Drugs & DrugAddiction

Secretariat Nat. Drug Commission

Nat. Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction

State Centre for Drug abuse Prevention

Institute for TherapyResearch

University MentalHealth ResearchInstitute

Health ResearchBoard

Estonian Drug Monitoring Centre

Min. of HealthNat. Centre for Epidemiology

Portuguese Institutefor Drugs & DrugAddiction

Government Deleg.to the National Planon Drugs

National Instituteof Public Health

Dept Min. of Health

Nat. Bureau for Drug Prevention

Institute Public Health

Board of Ministers for Drug Dependencies and Drug Control

European Commission

Direction de laSanté

Trimbos Institute SIRUSMin. of Health Drug Control Department

National Commission for Dependencies

National Centre for Addictions

National Anti-Drugs Agency

TurkeyTADOC – Turkish Academy against Drugs and Organised Crime

CroatiaOffice for Combating Narcotic Drug Abuse

The future new members of EMCDDA

And Western Balkan countries

Basis for Reitox cooperation with NFPs

• Founding Council Regulation of the EMCDDA

• Operating framework for the Reitox system

• New reporting structure and tools

• EMCDDA and Reitox work programmes

• Grant agreements

• Guidelines for reporting

How does a NFP work?

• Appointed by MS (national responsibility)

• Funded by MS, with EMCDDA co-financing

• Grant agreement for an action, 50% co-financing, with max. 97.000 € per country (2007)

• Procedure for definition work programme

Working towards a high-quality NFP- institutional challenges

• Institutional framework

• Legal base

• Clear mandate (incl. national responsibilities)

• Validity period of NFP nomination

• National political support

• Evidence-based decision-making with regard to drugs and drug addiction

Working towards a high-quality NFP

- operational challenges

• NFP competences should mirror the EMCDDA subject areas

• Cooperation with national/regional drug information network(s) and scientific community

• Interagency cooperation

• Access to national and regional data

• Human and financial resources

The new Reitox operating framework

• Result of a 2-y process: evaluation, working group new operating framework, working group new reporting tools

• Reporting tools• Grant agreement• Tasking process• Capacity building

Guidelines for national reportingSummary

Part A: New Developments and Trends

1. National policies and context

2. Drug Use in the Population

3. Prevention

4. Problem Drug Use

5. Drug-Related Treatment

6. Health Correlates and Consequences

7. Responses to Health Correlates and Consequences

8. Social Correlates and Consequences

9. Responses to Social Correlates and Consequences

10. Drug Markets

Part B – Selected Issues

11. Sentencing statistics

Part C

14. Bibliography

15. Annexes

Outputs of REITOX cooperation

Information collected and analysed atnational level and submitted to the EMCDDA

• National Reports, Structured Questionnaires, Standard Tables

• Implementation of the epidemiological key indicators• Data input into EMCDDA information systems• Early warnings on new synthetic drugs to the EMCDDA• Press clippings and replies to ad hoc requests

Reitox network challenges

Quality Assurance Policy

- Quality reports

- Implementation Needs Profiles

RTX Academy

- Motivating by supporting national needs

- Forging networking spirit

Data consistency

Quality check

Quality assessment

Process

Exploitation

Quality feedback

Since 2001 success…

• Generally recommendation for improvement are applied regarding adherence to guidelines:

- General layout - References to standard tables and structured questionnaires- Sources and use of Harvard for bibliography- Methodological information …- Efforts in writting the National report

Gaps to fill in…

• Respect of deadline • Conciseness• Weaknesses about lack of insight on trends

and interpretation of results …• In some countries, it is still too early to have

many information on trends

2007 Reitox academies

• Reitox Academy on cannabis prevention and treatment (29-30, March 2007)   

• Reitox Academy on public expenditure analysis in the field of drugs (May (TBC), Luxembourg)

• Reitox Academy Fonte training: introductory course (22nd May, heads of NFP meeting, Lisbon)   

• Reitox Academy Fonte training: specialised course (8th, June, Ankara, Turkey)

•  Reitox Academy on science-based practices (12-13 Sep, Oslo, Norway)

2008 and beyond

• RTX Academy on Media relations, TDI, analysis of TDI data using different methodologies, qualitative and quantitative and focus on data coverage.

• Towards further improvements of the academies:• to link more regularly RTX Academies with Selected Issues • to organise Academies for a broader audience (national

experts)• to provide with additional features (MP3 files)• updated strategy document on RTX Academy training

programme

To participate in the RTX network and to face challenges, usefulness and added values of the network should be perceived at national level