Duopah Yaa Asuaba, Moran Lisa, Elmusharaf Khalifa, Kelly Dervla
School of Medicine, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Int J Health Plann Manage. 2025 Jan;40(1):86-107. doi: 10.1002/hpm.3856. Epub 2024 Sep 26.
The changing drug situation in Ireland has led to the development of various drug policies. This paper aims to use Limerick City as a case study to examine approaches to policy development.
The study is qualitative and uses a hybrid technique that combines document, content, and stakeholder analysis. Kingdon's multiple streams model underpins this study. In addition, guidelines for the systematic search for grey literature were adopted as the search strategy.
Problem Stream: Illicit drug use and its related problems have changed. The increasing availability of drugs, increasing usage and changes in the types of drugs being used have led to increased drug-related crimes, adverse health outcomes and elevated demand for treatment services. Local drug policies and initiatives emerge by recognising drug-related problems in the region. Policy Stream: The current national drug strategy 2017-2025 which informs action plans in Limerick is the first to focus on a unified health approach. Some national policies have evolved to ensure that guidelines meet current service needs. However, these changes have occurred in some cases with no clear actions. Political Stream: Statutory, voluntary and community stakeholders provide drug addiction and drug addiction-related services, which have evolved rapidly since their first introduction. The Mid-West Regional Drug Task Force was identified as essential in coordinating stakeholders locally. One area for improvement is limited evidence of the voices of persons who take drugs included in service/policy development. This regional analysis also suggests that local implementation of policies concerning dual diagnosis and supervised injection facilities can be further expanded. Despite the challenges experienced by stakeholders in Limerick, a hands-on approach has been adopted in the creation of strategies to tackle the drug problem.
The approaches to drug policy development have delivered continuous development of services. However, services remain underdeveloped in areas removed from the capital city of Dublin. Navigating the complex drug landscape reveals that inclusivity, adaptation, and ongoing research are critical components of successful and long-lasting drug policies.
爱尔兰不断变化的毒品形势促使各种毒品政策得以制定。本文旨在以利默里克市为例，研究政策制定的方法。
本研究为定性研究，采用了一种结合文献、内容和利益相关者分析的混合技术。金登的多源流模型为该研究提供了理论基础。此外，采用了系统搜索灰色文献的指南作为搜索策略。
问题源流：非法药物使用及其相关问题发生了变化。毒品供应增加、使用量增加以及所使用毒品类型的变化导致与毒品相关的犯罪增加、健康不良后果以及对治疗服务的需求上升。通过认识到该地区与毒品相关的问题，出台了地方毒品政策和举措。政策源流：当前的2017 - 2025年国家毒品战略为利默里克的行动计划提供了指导，这是首个侧重于统一健康方法的战略。一些国家政策已经演变，以确保指南符合当前的服务需求。然而，在某些情况下，这些变化并没有明确的行动。政治源流：法定、志愿和社区利益相关者提供药物成瘾及与药物成瘾相关的服务，自首次引入以来，这些服务发展迅速。中西部地区毒品问题特别工作组被认为在当地协调利益相关者方面至关重要。一个有待改进的方面是，在服务/政策制定中纳入吸毒者声音的证据有限。该地区分析还表明，关于双重诊断和监督注射设施的政策在地方层面的实施可以进一步扩大。尽管利默里克的利益相关者面临挑战，但在制定解决毒品问题的战略时采取了切实可行的方法。
毒品政策制定方法带来了服务的持续发展。然而，在远离首都都柏林的地区，服务仍然不发达。应对复杂的毒品形势表明，包容性、适应性和持续研究是成功且持久的毒品政策的关键要素。
