Preliminary communication
COHERENCY ASSESSMENT OF POLICIES ON SOME OF THE PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES AND ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA
Dijana Jerković
orcid.org/0000-0001-6163-614X
; Office for Combating Drugs Abuse of the Government of the Republic of
Lidija Vugrinec
; Office for Combating Drugs Abuse of the Government of the Republic of
Željko Petković
; Office for Combating Drugs Abuse of the Government of the Republic of
Abstract
This paper presents the main results of the project on coherency assessment of policies on some of the psychoactive substances (tobacco, alcohol, drugs) and addictive behaviour (gambling) in the Republic of Croatia. The paper is an extension of the pilot project of the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe on testing the coherency markers of the policies on licit and illicit psychoactive substances, which is being seen as the degree of the compliance of different policies, i.e. the measure in which the respective policies are being compatible to each other (Muscat and Pike, 2012). The goal of this paper is to present the assessment of the policy coherency by applying the Questionnaire on coherency markers (Conceptualisation of the problem; Policy context; Legislative/regulatory framework; Strategic framework; Structures and resources; Response and interventions); analysis of the five strategic documents in the fields of health and addictions to tobacco, alcohol and drugs; and by conducting focus group method with respective experts and policy makers. The survey has shown that, except in the policy on illicit drugs, there is discrepancy in the implementation and monitoring of the concerned policies. There is a need for coherency enhancement and for establishing some sort of coordinative body / bodies. The aforementioned would improve the implementation quality of the activities, ensure the central planning and monitoring of the conducted planned strategic goals, and facilitate the monitoring of the state on addiction phenomenon in the Republic of Croatia.
Keywords
coherency; policy; psychoactive substances; addictive behaviour
Hrčak ID:
114589
URI
Publication date:
27.1.2014.
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