Q & A

No. The Cracks in the Ice toolkit is a free resource funded by the Australian Government Department of Health. It is designed to provide the community with accurate and up-to-date information and resources about ice (crystal methamphetamine).

While you do not need to create a user account to be able to access the information on the website, doing so allows you to bookmark or save resources so that you can access them easily in the future. To create a user account, simply Sign Up now. Registered users can bookmark a page by clicking the “Bookmark” icon on each page.

You can review your bookmarks by clicking “Go to Console” at the top left of the page, and then clicking “Review saved resources” within the “My bookmarks” tab.

The general process for selecting external resources (including factsheets, guidelines and online programs/training packages) to be included in Cracks in the Ice was as follows:

1. Potential content was identified by scoping of national and international online databases and collating all possibly relevant resources for inclusion.
2. Only high quality resources were selected for inclusion. External resources were assessed for eligibility for inclusion using an adapted version of the NHMRC Body of Evidence Matrix (NHMRC, 2009; https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/file/guidelines/stage_2_consultation_levels_and_grades.pdf). Resources were independently reviewed by the Cracks in the Ice project team against the following criteria:

• Evidence-based: Was the resource developed on the basis of evidence?
• Impact and utility: Does the resource cover at least one issue relevant to ice, and of high importance?
• Generalisability: Is the resource relevant to the Australian community, and/or one or more target groups for Cracks in the Ice?
• Applicability: Is the resource applicable to the Australian context?
• Recency: Resources were only assessed for inclusion if they had been updated in past 10 years (2006-present), unless a justification could be made for inclusion (e.g. no other existing resources available).
• Duplication: Resources were not assessed for inclusion if their content substantially overlapped with other resources and/or existing content contained on Cracks in the Ice.

To say that a resource is “evidence-based” is to say that it is informed or supported by evidence. The evidence that supports or backs up a particular resource may take different forms. In the case of the factsheets listed on Cracks in the Ice, “evidence-based” means that the information provided in these factsheets comes from a reliable information source, and is backed by research studies.

Click here for a full list of sources used in the development of the Cracks in the Ice website.

For example, to develop the “Get the Facts about Ice” information page, researchers from a leading research institute (the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre) conducted a review of published research studies reporting on the nature of the drug as well as the patterns of, and reasons for, ice use. Following this, the proposed “Get the Facts about Ice” information page was reviewed by researchers and clinicians working in the field. These processes allow us to be confident that the information on our website is fact-based and accurate.

The evidence-base for resources is important, as this helps us to judge how reliable and effective the resource is. Not all information on the internet is reliable and accurate. To help you evaluate the resources listed on Cracks in the Ice, we provide information about the source of information at the bottom of each page (under “Sources”) and where relevant, who developed the resource (under "Developers").

For more information about the use of evidence-based practice in community health education and promotion, see: Armstrong, R., Waters, E., Crockett, B., & Keleher, H. (2007). The nature of evidence resources and knowledge translation for health promotion practitioners. Health Promotion International, 22, 254-260. https://heapro.oxfordjournals.org/content/22/3/254.full.pdf+html

Do you have a question not answered here? Or a resource about crystal methamphetamine you would like us to review? Please contact us to let us know.