ACT AOD Sector Project
The ACT AOD Sector Project is a capacity
building Project that began in July 2007, and is funded by ACT
Health. The Youth Coalition of the ACT provides support
to
ACT AOD
Workers to conduct the AOD Sector Project. The Project aims to build
the capacity and identity of the ACT AOD sector, foster intra and cross-sectoral
relationships, and improve outcomes
while maintaining respect for the diversity of services and
for people who are affected by AOD. For more information visit www.aodsector.org.au or contact Amanda Bode,
ACT AOD Sector Project Officer, Youth Coalition of the ACT on info@aodsector.org.au or (02) 6247 3540.
July ACT AOD Sector Forum
The July ACT AOD sector forum will be hosted by the Canberra Recovery
Services.
Date: Thursday 24 July 2008
Time: 9.15am for arrivals, forum 9.30am - 11.30am
Guest Speaker: To be confirmed
Venue: Canberra Recovery Services, 7 Mildura St, Fyshwick
Note: This forum is for AOD Workers only.
For more information or to RSVP contact Amanda Bode, ACT AOD Sector Project
Officer, Youth Coalition of the ACT on info@aodsector.org.au or (02)
6247 3540
See also the Training and Professional Development section for the 'ACT Training and Professional Development Calendar'.
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Update on Project activities.
Information from services that attended the AOD Sector monthly forum.
Launches, key weeks, international days and program and service activities.
Information from the EDs' group that is relevant to the AOD sector and workers.
Information on networks, resources, websites, factsheets and tools for workers.
Training for the AOD and allied sectors, including upcoming seminars, conferences,
bus tours, courses and other professional development opportunities.
New research, reports, inquiry findings, and any key policy activities effecting
the AOD sector.
Media releases and news items relevant to the ACT AOD Sector.
Information items about consumer participation that are relevant to the AOD sector
and workers.
Information from and about allied sectors that is relevant to the AOD sector
and workers.
Employment opportunities in the ACT AOD and allied sectors.
Upcoming grants, funding opportunities and tenders.
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ACT Training and Professional Development Calendar (July - August 2008)
ACT AOD Sector Project, Youth Coalition of the ACT
The bi-monthly Training and Professional Development Calendar is produced
as a partnership between the ACT AOD Sector Project and the Youth
Coalition of the ACT. The calendar compiles training and professional
development
opportunities available for workers
from
the
AOD and allied
sectors.
Click here to download the current Training and Professional
Development Calendar or visit www.aodsector.org.au
For more information contact Amanda Bode, AOD Sector Project Officer,
Youth Coalition of the ACT on (02) 6247 3540 or info@aodsector.org.au
Comorbidity Bus Tour A
Youth Coalition of the ACT
The Youth Coalition runs monthly Bus Tours that provide workers with
an opportunity to gain insight into and build networks with alcohol
and other drug, mental health, youth and community agencies in the
ACT.
Bus Tour A visits:
-
Karralika Program
-
Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Service
-
Mental Health Foundation (Phillip office)
-
Directions ACT
-
Psychiatric Services Unit
-
Alcohol & Drug Program (Opioid Treament Services)
-
Canberra Recovery Service
-
Ainslie Village
Sobering Up Shelter
-
Mental Health Foundation (The Rainbow)
Date: Wednesday 9 July 2008
Time: 8:15am - 5.00pm
Cost: $20 for Youth Coalition members, $25 for non-members and $35
for government workers.
RSVP: Contact Steve on (02) 6247 3540 steve@youthcoalition.net
Please note: These tours are popular and book out rapidly.
We aim to get a diverse mix of services and sectors represented
on the
tour to
facilitate networking and foster partnerships. Workers and
other
professionals with direct client contact get priority.
Accidental Counsellor Training
Lifeline Canberra
The Accidental Counsellor Training program has been developed for people
who find themselves in situations where counselling or empathetic communication
is required. The program has been developed to provide participants with
a range of skills to work effectively with clients who are distressed,
agitated or in crisis.
Topics include communication, reflective listening,
counselling skills, boundary setting, dealing with crisis and de-briefing.
Date: Wednesday 16 July - Thursday 17 July
Time: 10am-5pm
Where: 114 Maitland Street, Hackett
Cost: $220
RSVP: To register, email training@act.lifeline.org.au
For more information, phone Lifeline Canberra on (02) 6204 6405.
Performance Management
ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS)
The aim of this seminar is to provide managers and supervisors with innovative
ways to enhance the effectiveness of service delivery through the development
of their staff. Participants will learn to: lead in the creation of a positive
feedback culture; use performance management to develop your people; manage
performance by focusing on people’s differences and strengths; handle difficult
feedback constructively; and apply specific communication strategies to particular
performance management situations.
Date: Thursday 24 July 2008
Time: 9am-4.30pm
Where: ACTCOSS (67 Townshend Street, Phillip)
Cost: $154 for members, $192.50 for non-members, $231 for government workers.
RSVP: For a copy of the registration form, phone (02) 6202 7200
For more information, email lisa@actcoss.org.au
Enhanced Team Functioning
ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS)
The aim of this seminar is to explore key factors in improving team functioning
for Community Sector organisations. The seminar will be facilitated by Biff
Ward.
Some of the topics covered will include: how to identify and handle difference;
how to apply emotional intelligence; and
how to ‘confront’ people problems.
Date: Thursday 7 August 2008
Time: 9am-4.30pm
Where: ACTCOSS (67 Townshend Street, Phillip)
Cost: $154 for members, $192.50 for non-members, $231 for government workers.
RSVP: For a copy of the registration form, phone (02) 6202 7200
For more information, email lisa@actcoss.org.au
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Note: Most of the reports and research items referenced below are available from
the Alcohol and Other Drug Council of Australias National Resource Centre
at www.adca.org.au/content/view/19/57/
Drugs and Driving
On 6 June 2008 a Public Forum was held at the University of Canberra
to provide an opportunity ‘…for the public to hear from experts on
the impact of drugs on driving, learn about random roadside drug testing
practice in other parts of Australia, and gain insight into current
research into drug driving’. This was undertaken as part of the ACT
Government’s review of the Road Transport (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1977
which includes proposals for the introduction of roadside testing for
cannabis, MDMA and methamphetamine in saliva. Most of the presentations
are available online at www.tams.act.gov.au/move/review_of_alcohol_and_drug_driving_laws.
They include the following:
1. ‘Random Roadside Drug Testing in Victoria’, Inspector Martin Boorman
APM, Victorian Police Traffic Drug and Alcohol Unit
2. ‘Prevalence of Drugs in ACT Drivers’, Dr Julieanne Dougherty, ACT
Government Analytical Laboratory
3. ‘Policy Content of Drug Driving Countermeasures’, Mr David McDonald,
Director, Social Research and Evaluation Pty Ltd
4. ‘Human Rights and Roadside Drug Testing’, Dr Helen Watchirs, ACT Human
Rights and Discrimination Commissioner.
Although the period for making submissions to the review of the Road
Transport (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1977 closed on 16 June, other opportunities
are likely to arise in the future for the AOD sector to contribute to
the updating of legislation covering alcohol and other drugs and driving.
Annual Needle & Syringe Program (NSP) Survey Report released
The report on the 2007 annual NSP Survey was released in May 2008. It
continues to be a valuable report, this time covering 2003
- 2007.
As usual, it includes a national summary and a separate summary
of findings relating to the ACT. Unfortunately, however, the report reveals
that the number of ACT respondents has fallen markedly, with the numbers
each year over the period 2003 to 2007 being 60, 28, 39, 52 and 22 respectively.
While the national data, and those from centres with larger numbers of
respondents, are accurate, one wonders if the low level of responses
in 2007 in the ACT impacts adversely on the usability of the ACT findings?
National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research 2008, Australian
NSP Survey national data report 2003-2007, NCHECR, University of New
South Wales, Sydney, available online at http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/nchecr
Calls for the Development of a Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful
use of Alcohol
On 24 May 2008, the 61st World Health Assembly adopted an important
resolution on ‘Strategies to reduce the harmful use of alcohol’. This
resolution
calls for the development of a draft global strategy to reduce the
harmful use of alcohol. In doing so, member nations have acknowledged
the many
adverse impacts of alcohol including the fact that these are rapidly
increasing in countries which previously had only low levels of alcohol
use and alcohol-related harm. It also acknowledges the fact that the
liquor industry is a global industry and therefore global responses
are required.
Member nations agreed that action will now commence, led by the World
Health Organization, to develop a draft Global Strategy to Reduce Harmful
Use of Alcohol for consideration at the 63rd World Health Assembly.
Such an initiative parallels the highly successful work, undertaken
some years
ago, to develop a Global Framework Convention on for Tobacco Control.
Documents on this alcohol initiative are available online at http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2008/wha61/issues_paper3/en/
Drug Driving Among Police Detainees
This research report from the Drug Use Monitoring Australia (DUMA) project
has shed new light upon drug driving among police detainees. The researchers
have summarised their findings as follows:
In recent years there has been increasing concern about the prevalence
of drug driving in Australia. Over the past four years, the majority
of Australian states have introduced legislation that makes it an offence
to drive with the presence of a range of drugs in the blood or saliva…The
study found that two-thirds of detainees had driven after using drugs
and/or alcohol in the previous 12 months, which is significantly higher
than the incidence of drug driving in the general population. The paper
also examines the possible link between high-speed police pursuits and
drugs, as there has been, at best, limited research conducted on this
highly dangerous form of driving and its relationship with drug intoxication.
Consistent with past research, detainees were most likely to perceive
that cannabis and methylamphetamine did not have a negative effect on
their driving ability.
According to the authors, the implication of these findings include ‘…the
need for continued monitoring of the prevalence of drug and/or alcohol
driving and perceptions of the impact on driving ability of different
drugs (including alcohol), as well as perceived risks of detection
given recent legislative changes that enable random drug testing of drivers’.
Adams, K, Smith, L & Hind, N 2008, ‘Drug driving among police detainees in Australia’, Trends and
Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, no. 357, Australian Institute of
Criminology, Canberra, http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi357.html Policing and Cannabis Use in Australia
This is the first in a series of Bulletins about cannabis
and criminal justice that is being produced by the National Cannabis
Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) in collaboration with the Australian
Institute of Criminology. It provides an overview of cannabis use among
the general population, police detainees and offenders serving custodian
sentences. It also reviews policing strategies and concludes that ‘A
significant proportion of offenders who have contact with police are
problematic cannabis users. Police can therefore play a role in referral
to treatment services and that ‘Police strategies that prevent cannabis-related
harm in communities involve partnerships with local agencies such as
schools, health services and other relevant community groups’.
Tresidder, J & Shaddock, 2008, Policing and cannabis use in Australia, Criminal Justice Bulletin
(National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre), no. 1, Sydney:
National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre, May 2008 (online
only: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/ncpic/cjb001.html).
Do Tobacco Control Policies and Mass Media Campaigns have an Impact on
the Prevalence of Smoking?
Although the amount of resources allocated to tobacco control policies
and related mass media campaigns are still inadequate, considering the
harm that tobacco causes, these initiatives remain an important part
of our sectors’ activity. To date, though, we have had limited research
evidence about their effectiveness in terms of smoking behaviour, as
different from people’s self-reported smoking intentions.
In this globally important study, Australian and international researchers
analysed data that has been collected monthly on adult smoking prevalence
over the period 1995 to 2006 from the five largest Australian capital
cities. It assessed the effect on smoking prevalence of televised anti-smoking
advertising, cigarette costliness, monthly sales of nicotine replacement
therapy (NRT) and bupropion (Zyban SR), and smoke-free restaurant laws.
The study concluded that ‘Increases in the real price of cigarettes and
tobacco control mass media campaigns broadcast at sufficient exposure
levels and at regular intervals are critical for reducing population
smoking prevalence.’ On the other hand, ‘Monthly sales of NRT and bupropion,
exposure to NRT advertising, and smoke-free restaurant laws had no detectable
impact on smoking prevalence’.
Wakefield, MA; Durkin, S; Spittal, MJ; Siahpush, M; Scollo, M; Simpson,
JA; Chapman, S: White, V & Hill, D 2008, ‘Impact of tobacco control policies and mass media campaigns on
monthly adult smoking prevalence’, American Journal of Public Health,
AJPH published June 12, 2008, 10.2105/AJPH.2007.128991.
How Confident can we be in the Results of Australia’s NSP Survey Program?
The annual national Needle and Syringe Program (NSP) Survey is a particularly
important tool for undertaking hepatitis C, hepatitis B and HIV surveillance
among people who inject illegal drugs. Over the years, however, its methodology
has been questioned leading to researchers examining the validity of
the Survey. They examined the data from the 2006 survey which covered
3,920 NSP clients, and concluded that the approach taken is sound:
Inferences derived from the Survey results can reasonably be applied
to the population of NSP clients, although because older female pharmaceutic
injectors may be overrepresented among NSP Survey participants, recruitment
strategies to target specific subpopulations (younger male participants)
and stratification of main outcomes by age and gender in future analyses
may usefully be considered. Although the extent to which Survey results
can be generalized to Australia’s broader IDU population cannot be ascertained,
their consistency with other sources of surveillance data suggests that
NSP Survey samples reflect the changing characteristics of Australia’s
illicit drug markets. Consequently, these are likely to be as representative
samples of injectors as it is practical to obtain, and the Australian
NSP Survey provides a useful model for blood-borne virus surveillance
among IDUs’ (p. 632).
Topp, L, Iversen, J, Wand, H, Day, C, Kaldor, J & Maher, L 2008, ‘Representativeness of injecting drug users who participate in
HIV surveillance: results from Australia’s Needle and Syringe Program
Survey’, Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, vol. 47, no.
5, pp. 632-8. Why Don’t we Address Smoking with AOD Clients?
This was the title of the ‘Research to Practice’ corner in the June 2008
issue of Practice Link, a must-read publication from Turning Point in
Melbourne.
The authors remind us that, while smoking prevalence in the general population
has fallen, AOD treatment clients tend to have highly elevated levels
of smoking and that the adverse impacts of this are compounded by the
generally poor health of the treatment population.
They point out that ‘Research shows that drug users are well aware of
health risks of smoking and many want to give up. In a study of AOD clients,
Shoptaw et al (2002) found 60% planned to quit within 6 months, and most
were very interested in attending a quit program (60%) and using nicotine
replacement (80%). Studies also show this group are able to quit and
that smoking cessation does not impact on treatment outcomes (Lemon et
al., 2003)’ (our emphasis).
The authors go on to ask ‘why don’t we address this important treatment
issue with our clients?’ and have come up with a number of answers, along
with the strong suggestion that people in AOD treatment services become
far more active in implementing smoking cessation programs among their
staff and clients.
Anon. 2008, ‘Why don’t we address smoking with AOD clients?’ Practice
Link, no. June, p. 1, available online at www.turningpoint.org.au/library/praclink.htm. The study cited regarding impacts on treatment outcomes is Lemon, SC,
Friedmann, PD & Stein, MD 2003, ‘The impact of smoking cessation on drug abuse treatment outcome’,
Addictive Behaviors, vol. 28, no. 7, pp. 1323-31 which finds that ‘Controlling
for multiple factors, smoking cessation was associated with greater abstinence
from drug use after completion of drug abuse treatment (P=.04). Despite
drug abuse treatment programs' hesitance to encourage smokers to quit,
smoking cessation does not negatively impact drug use outcomes.’
How Much do Surveys of Youth Drinking tell us about Patterns of Alcohol-Related
Harm?
The current national concern about drinking by young people, perhaps
best illustrated by the release of the National Binge Drinking Strategy
earlier this year www.pm.gov.au/media/Release/2008/media_release_0126.cfm and the various parliamentary enquiries into alcohol, has thrown up apparently
conflicting evidence about the extent and nature of alcohol consumption
and harm among young people in Australia. This received media attention
upon the recent release of an article written by Michael Livingston from
the AER Centre for Alcohol Policy Research at Turning Point Alcohol and
Drug Centre, Melbourne. The author examined data from surveys covering
the period 1984 to 2005 to find out whether or not the proportion of
young people drinking at risky levels, according to the NHMRC guidelines,
had increased over that time. He compared the findings of these analyses
with 1988-2006 data on alcohol-caused hospital admissions and emergency
department presentations of young people. He concluded that:
The survey data shows mixed results, with no clear trend in the rate
of risky drinking among young people. The harms data suggest that rates
of alcohol-related harm, particularly acute intoxication, had increased
dramatically over recent years. The relationship between survey-derived
estimates of alcohol consumption and rates of alcohol-related harms
is not as clear-cut as expected, and raise concerns about the sensitivity
of population surveys in detecting changes in harmful drinking patterns.
The current increasing trends in alcohol related harms for young people
in Victoria suggest the need for immediate public health interventions.
Livingston, M 2008, ‘Recent trends in risky alcohol consumption and
related harm among young people in Victoria, Australia’, Australian and New Zealand
Journal of Public Health, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 266-71. Australia's Health 2008
Australia's health 2008 is the 11th biennial health report of the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare. It's the nation's premier source of
statistics and informed commentary on: - patterns and determinants
of health and illness - health across the life stages - the supply
and use of health services - expenditure and workforce - and health
sector performance.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2008, Australia’s health 2008.
Cat. no. AUS 99.
Canberra: AIHW. Available online at http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10585
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