Service Users’ Satisfaction and Outcomes Survey

The poster Reducing harms through collaboration: co-designing a service user experience survey was presented at the 2023 Harm Reduction International Conference. This poster provides an overview of the SUSOS Codesign Project that engages people using AOD services as partners in the design and implementation of patient-reported experience measures for AOD services. The project uses specific strategies to empower AOD service users and peers to be involved in all stages of its development. A collaboration between ATODA and the Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy (CAHMA – the peer-based harm reduction, treatment and support organisation) was central to the project. The poster outlines details on the collaborative and participatory approach that was used to collect service user voices and perspectives; what was found; what has been done with this information and a summary of the key outcomes.

Click here to download the poster.

The 2018 Service Users Satisfaction and Outcomes Survey (SUSOS) was conducted on a single day in November 2018 at twenty-five sites at all ten specialist alcohol and drug treatment and support services in the ACT (both government and non-government services). A total of 621 people who accessed these programs on a single day completed the Survey. The SUSOS aims to improve service responsiveness to the needs of people accessing specialist AOD services in the ACT and to inform quality improvement programs in the participating specialist AOD services. To do this, the SUSOS seeks to:

• provide a demographic profile of the population of services users accessing AOD treatment and support services in the ACT, thereby pointing to the potential needs of the AOD treatment population
• investigate service users’ experiences of accessing ACT publicly-funded specialist AOD services
• investigate the perspectives of service users of the quality of these AOD services by assessing their levels and patterns of satisfaction, and
• investigate self-reported outcomes as a result of using these AOD

The ACT SUSOS is the only jurisdiction-wide survey of satisfaction and outcomes of people accessing specialist AOD services in Australia. These surveys have been conducted in ACT specialist AOD services every three years since 2009. The results from 2018 will be published in July 2020 and available as an ATODA Monograph.

Findings from the 2018 SUSOS were presented at the 2019 APSAD Scientific Alcohol and Drug Conference: van der Sterren A, Fowlie C, Alleva L and Bode A. ‘Satisfaction and self-reported outcomes for service users of specialist alcohol and other drug treatment and support services in the ACT: implications of findings from the 2018 Service Users’ Satisfaction and Outcomes Survey’, poster presented at the APSAD Conference, Hobart, 10 – 13 November 2019.

To download the 2018 ACT ATOD Service Users’ Satisfaction and Outcomes Survey Report, click here.

About the 2015 Service Users’ Satisfaction and Outcomes Survey (SUSOS)

The 2015 Service Users’ Satisfaction and Outcomes Survey (SUSOS) was implemented on a single day at nineteen sites at all ten specialist alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment and support services in the ACT. A total of 469 people completed the Survey.

The 2015 SUSOS was a collaboration between all ACT Health-funded and delivered specialist AOD treatment, policy and support services: Alcohol and Drug Services and AOD Policy Unit, ACT Health; Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug Association ACT; Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy; CatholicCare Canberra & Goulburn; Directions Health Service; Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation; Karralika Programs; Ted Noffs Foundation; Canberra Recovery Services, The Salvation Army; Toora Women; and Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service.

The SUSOS provides an overall picture of the experiences, outcomes and satisfaction of service users accessing specialist AOD services in the ACT. The services include withdrawal, treatment and harm reduction services, offered in a range of settings: residential and non-residential; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and mainstream; and government and non-government. The Survey is conducted every 3 years and data from the 2015 Survey can be compared to the findings of earlier surveys conducted in 2009 and 2012.

SUSOS Documents

• Media release, ACT Government, 9 December 2016 ACT alcohol and drug services making a difference

• Collective Impact Statement Two—Specialist Alcohol and Other Drug Services Achieve Outstanding Outcomes

• ATODA monograph four—Service Users’ Satisfaction and Outcomes Survey 2015: A census of people accessing specialist alcohol and other drug services in the ACT

• Poster presented at the 2016 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs (APSAD) Conference—Satisfaction & self-reported outcomes for service users of specialist alcohol and other drug treatment and support services in the ACT

A Service Users’ Satisfaction Survey was conducted across the ACT ATOD organisations, both government and non-government, on 21 June 2012. It largely replicated the ACT Service Users’ Satisfaction Survey conducted on 19 November 2009.
The Survey had two purposes. The first was to obtain a snapshot of the levels and patterns of satisfaction of the service users. The second was to provide information on any changes in satisfaction between 2009 and 2012 as this information can be used for monitoring and assessing the outcomes of quality assurance programs implemented by the services that participated in the Survey. The survey report was prepared by David McDonald, Consultant in Social Research & Evaluation for the Alcohol and Other Association ACT Inc.

The 2012 ACT Alcohol & Other Drug Sector Service User Satisfaction Survey has provided valuable information demonstrating the high overall level of service user satisfaction at the sector wide level, with significant variations on a service-by-service basis. This information provides opportunities for the participating organisations to review their strengths and build upon them, and to explore opportunities for service quality enhancement in areas where client satisfaction levels are relatively low.
The across-the-board increases in levels of satisfaction from 2009 to 2012 observed are encouraging, suggesting that the quality enhancement initiatives that have been implemented by the participating organisations in recent years have been effective.

The 2012 ACT ATOD Service Users Satisfaction Survey report is now available and can be downloaded here.

For a summary of the report, see the poster.

A Service Users’ Satisfaction Survey was conducted across ACT ATOD services, both government and non-government, on 19 November 2009. The Survey filled two functions. The first was to obtain a snapshot of the levels and patterns of satisfaction of the service users. The second was to provide baseline information for monitoring and assessing the outcomes of quality assurance programs implemented by the services that participated in the Survey. The survey report was prepared by David McDonald, Consultant in Social Research & Evaluation for the Alcohol and Other Drug Policy Unit, ACT Health.

It was agreed that by repeating the Survey at intervals, it will be possible to observe trends in service user satisfaction. As such, the Health Directorate has now funded ATODA to implement the Survey with support from the Executive Directors / CEOs of the ACT ATOD services. David McDonald has again been contracted to support the survey development and report; with CAHMA offering additional support to this process.

To read the 2009 report click here

The following Health Directorate funded or delivered ATOD treatment programs are contracted to participate in the survey:

• Alcohol and Drug Services, Health Directorate
• Canberra Alliance for Harm Minimisation and Advocacy (CAHMA)
• CatholicCare Canberra and Goulburn
• Directions Health Services
• Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation
• Karralika Programs Inc.
• Salvation Army
• Ted Noffs Foundation ACT
• Toora Women Inc.
• Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service