Drug and alcohol review
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Drug and alcohol review · Jan 2009
Comparative StudyEnhancing treatment access: evaluation of an Australian Web-based alcohol and drug counselling initiative.
The provision of counselling and other health interventions over the Internet is an emerging treatment modality. In 2007, an evaluation of the first Australian pilot Web-based alcohol and other drug (AOD) counselling initiative, known as CounsellingOnline, was completed. This paper explores whether CounsellingOnline enhanced AOD service accessibility for clients. ⋯ CounsellingOnline has showed enhanced AOD service accessibility through its service responsiveness, high level of after-hours service utilisation, and appeal to a client group that differs from those seen in conventional and telephone AOD counselling services. The capacity of Web-based services such as CounsellingOnline to enhance service accessibility is significant, particularly for clients whose access to conventional treatment services is limited.