Supporting Harm Reduction Programs

SSP Indicators

Below are all SHaRP resources related to SSP indicators.

SSP Indicators Implementation Guide

The SSP Indicators Implementation Guide provides basic data points that a wide variety of SSPs could collect to monitor and evaluate their programs. This guide is focused on basic services and may not include some services that are becoming more common at SSPs. While this entire guide is likely useful for funders, government agencies, and others who require data from SSPs, the “Considerations for Funders” section is directly focused on recommendations for those who require these data.

SSP Indicators Implementation Guide: Background and Methods

This project came from conversations the SHaRP team regularly has with SSPs about good practices for data collection and which data to collect. This guide was informed by conversations with SSPs and funders, an analysis of state SSP data requirements, a convening with SSP staff, participants, and funders, and a workgroup and public share back that resulted from the convening.  

SSP Indicators Implementation Guide: Brief to Funders

One of the guiding principles of this toolkit is minimizing data collection wherever possible, to respect the autonomy of participants, and to minimize barriers to access services.  We acknowledge that harm reduction funders have rationale for collecting certain data from funding recipients, including facing their own requirements for specific data and a desire to evaluate their own efforts. However, disparate and potentially unethical requirements have a substantive impact on programs, and in particular, programs with relatively fewer resources.  The below resource includes some suggested considerations for funders of harm reduction services as they implement new or explore alternate methods for collecting data from funding recipients.

SSP Indicators Implementation Guide: Demographic Indicators

The domain “Demographics” refers to participant characteristics at an SSP. It includes the indicators “participant age range,” “participant gender,” and “participant race/ethnicity.”  

SSP Indicators Implementation Guide: Engagement with People Who Use Drugs Indicators

The domain “Engagement with People Who Use Drugs” refers to the ways that programs empower people who use drugs, include people who use drugs in decision-making, collect feedback from people who use drugs, and incorporate feedback in programming. This domain includes the indicators “how people who use drugs are engaged to give feedback about programs” and “how participants have decision making power in programs.”  

SSP Indicators Implementation Guide: Implementation Checklist

The checklist has been developed to help outline the steps required to begin implementing any of the suggested indicators in this guidance. Each phase of implementation includes steps and considerations for integrating the indicators into a program’s data collection system.   

SSP Indicators Implementation Guide: Overdose Prevention Indicators

The domain “Overdose Prevention” refers to the program services and activities directed towards preventing fatal overdose. It includes the indicators “count of naloxone doses distributed,” “participant overdose experience,” and “reported overdose reversals.”

SSP Indicators Implementation Guide: Service Coverage Indicators

At the population level, the domain “Service Coverage” may refer to the reach of a program in a geographic area. At the individual level, “Service Coverage” may refer to the level of engagement, level of services, or comprehensiveness of services provided to a participant. The indicators included in this domain are “hours per week a program operates,” “program’s service model(s),” and “total participant visits.” 

SSP Indicators Implementation Guide: Service Quality Indicators

The domain “Service Quality” refers to the effectiveness of services at improving the wellbeing and meeting the self-identified expectations of participants, staff, and volunteers. It includes the indicators “program activities” and “program needs and barriers to service provision.”  

SSP Indicators Implementation Guide: Structural Violence Indicators

The domain “Structural Violence” refers to the ways that local, regional, and national systems and institutions, including economic, political, cultural, and legal institutions, affect the lives and health of participants. This domain includes the indicators “participant housing status” and “participant interactions with law enforcement.”  

SSP Indicators Implementation Guide: Supply and Service Provision Indicators

The domain “Supply and Service Provision” refers to the services that a program provides and the supplies that a program distributes. The indicators included in this domain are “count of syringes distributed,” “types of services a program provides,” and “types of supplies a program distributes.”