Using Data and Evaluation in Policy Development, Implementation and Monitoring: Building Successful Policies to Reduce Prescription Opioid Misuse

The National Governors Association released this brief to help governors and state policymakers incorporate data and evaluation into policy development, implementation, and monitoring, using the example of prescription opioid misuse. There are five steps to using data and evaluation in policy: creating a logic model, identifying data sources, collecting the data, analyzing the data, and making data analysis an ongoing part of the policy process. The authors break down each of the five steps in detail and provide examples from the perspective of a state attempting to reduce prescription opioid misuse.