Project

Swanswell's Netmums Project

Outcomes:

Netmums view the project as a success. Previously they had referred members with substance use problems to external agencies and now they can offer that service within Netmums, so many other parents who may be experiencing similar problems have access to the advice and help that is made available. Netmums point out a key benefit of the forums is that posts can be viewed by many members, so reducing feelings of isolation that someone in trouble may be undergoing.

During eight weeks of the pilot project, Swanswell posts were viewed by Netmums members a total of 16,399 times. Average views of Swanswell posts were 529 per post. However, posts made regarding heroin use reached a much higher figure than this at 2,280 times per post. This may suggest that there is a hidden need or interest among members.

Some 22 alcohol related posts were read a total of 6,295 times. On average alcohol related posts were read 261 times, while nine of the Swanswell drug related posts were read 10,104 times. On average drug related posts were read 1,122 times.

During the pilot Swanswell contributed to a total of 22 ‘threads’ which led to a ‘virtual’ caseload of 22. Some advice and information supplied to members was of a simple one off nature while other threads were much more complicated as a range of issues including mental health, domestic violence and child protection became evident. Most of the cases involved concern about drinking either by the member or the member’s spouse or partner while some related to parental concern about possible drug use by teenage children.

Evaluation: Internal

Learning:

Among lessons the Swanswell team has learned from the project are:

  1. Four hours a week was insufficient time to deliver the level of professional service Swanswell aimed to provide, but it is possible to deliver high quality advice to a significant population with even such a limited input
  2. Like many substance misuse workers, most of the prior experience of the Swanswell team had been in dealing face to face with substance users, so working in text, asychronously over time requires development of new skills. Many of the cases on Netmums refer to a partner’s habits so there is a learning curve in offering help to family members, partners and friends.
  3. It can be counter-productive to aim to answer every point made in a post as this can kill the thread. Overall, exisiting social networking sites appear to provide excellent opportunities to make advice and information available to significant populations cost-effectively.
  4. A wide range of psychosocial problems are encountered in some of the postings so practitioners need the level of experience to deal with them and to make intelligent referrals when issues fall outside their expertise.