DigitAS: OLE/TMAT 3

Increasing Engagement of Opioid Users in Treatment through Online Consultations

For people who use drugs (PWUD), engagement in treatment not only increases the chances of recovery but also decreases the chances of drug-related death and all-cause mortality.

The OLE/TMAT 3 project is funded by the Scottish Government’s Digital Lifelines initiative and will run in 2022-23.

The general aim of this project is to increase treatment coverage and engagement with treatment of people with substance abuse disorders in Scotland, especially those at high risk of overdose. We are doing this by: 

1. Finding evidence for the core elements of digital interventions that enhance the therapeutic relationship.

2. Proposing and adapting a tool to measure the improvements that the introduction of those core elements of digital interventions bring to the therapeutic relationship once implemented.

3. Proposing and piloting improvements to the Near Me platform as well as a package of features/addons that could be added to Near Me to improve the therapeutic relationship and, consequently, engage more people in treatment.

In this project, we will carry out human-centered design sessions such as usability testing, co-design sessions and interviews, with people with lived experience using drugs (PWLE) and their service providers (SP). Expected fieldwork will be start in April, 2023 in NHS Fife.