| ACT AOD Sector Project
The AOD Sector Project is a one-off twelve-month capacity
building Project that began on 23 July 2007 and ends on 30 June 2008.
The Youth Coalition of
the ACT was the successful tenderer to provide 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 http://www.aodsector.org.au or contact Amanda Bode,
ACT AOD Sector Project Officer, Youth Coalition of the ACT on info@aodsector.org.au or 6247 3540.
ACT AOD Sector Project Worker Satisfaction and Needs Survey
The ACT AOD Sector
Project has developed a short survey to encourage workers to provide
feedback about Project activities and to have input into
training and professional development opportunities that will be offered
by the Project in 2008. We would appreciate if you could take the time
to complete the survey by Friday 14 December. The survey is
anonymous and should take about 5 -10 minutes.
To participate in the survey visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=xPkTNX2jbIUVYPkNz4gdxg_3d_3d
ACT AOD Sector Lawn Bowls Christmas Party
The Christmas Party will be an end of year celebration for services
represented on the ACT AOD Workers' Group, and an opportunity for
us to celebrate the great work done in 2007.
Date: Thursday 6 December 2007
Time: 4 - 6pm
Venue: Canberra South Bowling Club, Austin Street, Griffith
RSVP: ESSENTIAL by Monday 3 December. Contact Amanda on amanda@youthcoalition.net or
6247 3540.
|
Updates 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.
|
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 http://www.adca.org.au/resource/index.htm
Tobacco harm reduction: isn’t it time we got serious about this?
An irony of Australia’s National Drug Strategy, since its inception,
has been the embracing of harm reduction with regard to alcohol and
the illegal drugs, but not with regard to the greatest killer of all,
tobacco. This was the subject of an editorial in a recent issue of
the International Journal of Drug Policy. The editorialists canvassed
the issues, discussed what they see as the public health profession’s
denial of the positive roles of tobacco harm reduction, and concluded:
‘We can reduce tobacco related death and disease far more rapidly than
we can reasonably expect to reduce nicotine use by focusing on the fact
that people smoke for the nicotine but die from the smoke. Applying harm
reduction principles to public health policies on tobacco/nicotine is
more than simply a rational and humane policy. It is more than a pragmatic
response to a market that is, anyway, already in the process of undergoing
significant changes. It has the potential to lead to one of the greatest
public health breakthroughs in human history by fundamentally changing
the forecast of a billion cigarette-caused deaths this century’ (p. 74).
Sweanor, D, Alcabes, P & Drucker, E 2007, 'Tobacco harm reduction: how rational public policy could transform
a pandemic', International Journal of Drug Policy, vol. 18, no. 2,
pp. 70-4.
Is childhood socio-economic status associated with adult alcohol use?
An important policy issue in this era of increasing acknowledgement of
the social determinants of problematic drug use is the link between childhood
socio-economic status and patterns of alcohol use in later life. A systematic
review of evidence on this link was recently conducted by British researchers.
A core finding is that we do not have sufficient quality data upon which
to draw definitive, or even strongly indicative, findings: ‘Nineteen relevant articles were identified…There was little consistent
evidence to support an association between lower childhood SES and later
(mis)use of alcohol….We found little robust evidence to support the assumption
that childhood disadvantage is associated with later alcohol use/abuse.
Given the importance of this issue in terms of policy, the lack of evidence
is surprising and emphasizes the need for further research in order to
inform future policies and public health messages.’
Wiles, NJ, Lingford-Hughes, A, Daniel, J, Hickman, M, Farrell, M, Macleod,
J, Haynes, JC, Skapinakis, P, Araya, R & Lewis, G 2007, ‘Socio-economic status in childhood and later alcohol use: a
systematic review’, Addiction, vol. 102, no. 10, pp. 1546-63.
‘Drug users more likely to drive than drinkers’
This was the headline of the media statement, released on 31 October,
covering the Australian Drug Foundation/Turning Point report of a study
of drink and drug driving in Victoria. The authors concluded that:
‘Illegal and pharmaceutical drug users are far more likely to drive after
taking drugs than those who drink alcohol... Among the major findings:
* 51.3 per cent of respondents who used cannabis reported driving within
three hours of drug use
* 52.7 per cent of respondents who used methamphetamine reported driving
within three hours of drug use
* 37.5 per cent of respondents who used ecstasy reported driving within
three hours of drug use, and
* 30.3 per cent of respondents who used benzodiazepines (also known as
minor tranquilisers) reported driving within three hours of drug use.
This compares to 13.8 per cent of alcohol users who admitted driving
with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) greater than .05.’
For more information visist http://www.adf.org.au/article.asp?ContentID=Drugusersmorelikelytodrivethandrinkers
Prescription drugs and road traffic crashes
Considerable attention is currently being paid, across the nation, to
the effects on the incidence of road crashes of the use of illegal drugs.
(The ACT Government is awaiting definitive results from interstate trials
before it adopts its policy in this area.) But what about prescription
drugs: do they have an impact on road safety as well? Norwegian researchers
examined this using 2004-2005 population-based data which included 3.1
million people and 13,000 road traffic crashes in which personal injuries
occurred. They found that users of prescription drugs had a somewhat increased
level of road crash risk in the seven days following dispensing (1.4
time the level in people not prescribed pharmaceutical drugs). The risk
was very high in drivers prescribed opioids (e.g. codeine; twice that
of the controls) and benzodiazepine tranquillisers (2.9 times). Interestingly,
the risk was also somewhat elevated in drivers prescribed non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, e.g. ibuprofen): 1.5 times the controls.
Engeland, A, Skurtveit, S & Morland, J 2007, Risk of road traffic accidents associated with the prescription
of drugs: a registry-based cohort study’, Annals of Epidemiology, vol.
17, no. 8, pp. 597-602.
Evaluating the Opioid Replacement Pharmacotherapy Program at Winnunga Nimmityjah
Aboriginal Health Service
In this study, the Brief Treatment Outcome Measure was adminstered to
clients twice with an interval of at least three months, and the main
outcome measures used were retention rate in the treatment program and
self reported heroin use. The authors concluded that 'Opioid replacement
pharmacotherapy is beneficial to opioid-dependant Aboriginal people in
urban settings. Access to this treatment in culturally appropriate settings
needs to be expanded'. This was based on the fact that the program had
an 81% retention rate at 3 months and recorded very low levels of heroin
use among clients.
Black, A, Khan, S, Brown, R, Sharp, P, Chatfield, H & McGuiness, C 2007, ‘An evaluation of opioid replacement pharmacotherapy in an
urban Aboriginal Health Service’, Australian and New Zealand Journal
of Public Health, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 428-32.
Has harm reduction failed with respect to hepatitis C? Has ‘real’ harm
reduction actually been implemented?
Readers who also subscribe to ADCA’s national drugs discussion list DrugTalk
http://www.adca.org.au/DiscussionLines/drugtalk.htm will have seen claims
that harm reduction has failed, as evidenced by the continuing high levels
of hepatitis C among people who inject illegal drugs. This issue was
canvassed in some detail in the October 2007 special issue of the International
Journal of Drug Policy, Volume 18, Issue 5, Pages 333-452: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09553959.
Articles are found there covering hepatitis C epidemiology, stigma, prevention,
treatment, policy issues and other matters. Particularly impressive and
thought-provoking is a commentary by Annie Madden from AIVL and Walter
Cavalieri from the Canadian Harm Reduction Network: ‘Hepatitis C prevention
and true harm reduction’ (pp. 335-7). They dispute the claim that harm
reduction has failed people who use illicit drugs, arguing instead that:
‘…we need to ask whether the system (and that means all of us and all
of our organizations, institutions and governments) has failed to create
an environment where we can honestly and effectively work to assist people
in reducing the harms which drug use (and drug laws as well) may be causing
them. People who use drugs are not disempowered and disengaged because
of harm reduction; they are marginalized by a discriminatory system that
prevents them from engaging in healthy and protective behaviours’ (pp.
336-7).
Can cannabis social marketing campaigns make people ill?
Scholars from the Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University
in the UK write:
In the UK and elsewhere, social marketing is becoming a major feature
of health-improvement strategies. Based on marketing techniques developed
for commercial sales, social marketing uses imagery (eg television, magazines,
internet and billboards) and phrases (eg radio adverts and slogans) specifically
aimed at target groups (eg young people), typically to increase their
positive health behaviours. Both national organisations and local health
services routinely develop such interventions, often with little evidence
of specifically how each campaign will affect public health. In general,
such campaigns are regarded as potentially beneficial and possibly ineffective,
but rarely are they considered dangerous to health. However, with access
to powerful media such as the internet, professional eye-catching graphics
and demographic targeting techniques unimaginable only a decade ago,
such views need reassessing. In this report, we highlight the potential
for social marketing campaigns to have negative repercussions, using cannabis prevention as an example.
Sumnall, HR & Bellis, MA 2007, ‘Can health campaigns make people ill? The iatrogenic potential
of population-based cannabis prevention’, Journal of Epidemiology and
Community Health, vol. 61, no. 11, pp. 930-31.
It is worth noting, in this context, that Australia’s National Drug Strategy
has a reputation for basing its social marketing campaigns on a solid
foundation of research, as illustrated by the reports at the 2007 National
Drugs Campaign web site http://www.drugs.health.gov.au/internet/drugs/publishing.nsf/Content/campaign-resources.
The impacts of social networks on the sharing of drug injecting equipment
and contaminated environments
Thinking about reducing the risk of transmission of blood borne viruses
among people who inject illegal drugs has long focused on individual
risk and protective factors, with messages about cleanliness
and not sharing. Less attention has been given to social networks as
determinants of risk. Canadian researchers have recently reviewed the
literature in this area and have reached the following conclusions:
‘Network correlates of drug equipment sharing are multi-factorial and
include structural factors (network size, density, position, turnover),
compositional factors (network member characteristics, role and quality
of relationships with members) and behavioural factors (injecting norms,
patterns of drug use, severity of drug addiction). Factors appear to
be related differentially to equipment sharing.
‘ Social network characteristics are associated with drug injection risk
behaviours and should be considered alongside personal risk behaviours
in prevention programmes.’
De, P, Cox, J, Boivin, J-F, Platt, RW & Jolly, AM 2007, 'The importance of social networks in their association to drug
equipment sharing among injection drug users: a review', Addiction, vol.
102, no. 11, pp. 1730-39.
The impacts on attention, learning and cognitive abilities of alcohol
consumption during pregnancy
As reported in this and the previous eBulletin, NHMRC is seeking public comment
on its proposed revision to the Australian Alcohol Guidelines for Low-Risk
Drinking http://nhmrc.gov.au/news/media/rel07/071012.htm . See the Sector Development section for more information.
Longitudinal cohort studies provide some of the most powerful evidence
underpinning guidelines such as the NHMRC’s. At Griffith University in
Brisbane a research team from the Psychological Health Research Centre,
led by Dr Frances O’Callaghan, has followed a cohort from before birth
to 14 years of age. The researchers have recently published an assessment
of the effects of moderate levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy
on children’s intellectual ability, learning and attention. They found
that women drinking up to one glass of alcoholic beverage a day in early
or late pregnancy was not associated with any adverse attention, learning
or cognitive outcomes in the children studied. On the other hand, ‘binge
drinking’ during pregnancy, i.e. consuming five or more drinks on one
occasion, was associated with decreased cognitive ability at 14 years.
O’Callaghan, FV, O’Callaghan, M, Najman, JM, Williams, GM & Bor, W 2007, ‘Prenatal alcohol exposure and attention, learning and intellectual
ability at 14 years: a prospective longitudinal study’, Early Human Development,
vol. 83, no. 2, pp. 115-23.
Where to seek help for a mental disorder? National survey of the beliefs
of Australian youth and their parents
A national survey of beliefs of Australian young people and their parents
has been conducted to determine the intentions that young people have for
seeking help if they
were to
develop
a mental
disorder.The results appear in a
recent edition of the Medical Journal of Australia
To download the report click here
Jorm, A., Wright, A. & Morgran, A. 2007, 'Where to seek help for a mental disorder?
National survey of the beliefs of Australian youth and their parents',
Medical Journal of Australia, vol.187, no. 10, pp. 556 - 560.
|