Drug and alcohol review
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Drug and alcohol review · Jul 2021
Online alcohol delivery is associated with heavier drinking during the first New Zealand COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
This paper aimed to assess purchasing and drinking behaviour during the first COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in New Zealand. ⋯ Online alcohol delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions was associated with heavier drinking in the past week. The rapid expansion of online alcohol delivery coupled with a lack of regulatory control requires public health policy attention.
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Drug and alcohol review · Jun 2021
Screening for risky drinkers among hospitalised inpatients using the AUDIT: A feasibility, point prevalence and data linkage study.
Risky drinking frequently remains undiagnosed or untreated, including in hospitalised inpatients. Using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), we assessed the feasibility of screening for risky drinking and whether screening results aligned with alcohol-attributable diagnoses in an inpatient population. ⋯ Pre-admission risky drinking was evident in one-fifth of hospital inpatients, but alcohol-attributable diagnoses were unreliable proxy measures of risky drinking. Screening in-patients with the AUDIT was acceptable to inpatients and can be feasibly implemented in an Australian tertiary hospital setting.
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Drug and alcohol review · Feb 2021
Describing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol-induced blackout tweets.
COVID-19, considered a pandemic by the World Health Organization, overwhelmed hospitals in the USA. In parallel to the growing pandemic, alcohol sales grew in the USA, with people stockpiling alcohol. Alcohol-induced blackouts are one particularly concerning consequence of heavy drinking, and the extent to which blackout prevalence may change in the context of a pandemic is unknown. The purpose of the current study is to describe the prevalence of publicly available tweets in the USA referencing alcohol-induced blackouts prior to and during the COVID-19 outbreak. ⋯ Our findings demonstrate that references to high-risk drinking persist during the pandemic despite restrictions on large social gatherings. Given that the internet is a common source of information for COVID-19, the frequent posting about blackouts during this period might normalise the behaviour. This is concerning because alcohol use increases susceptibility to COVID-19, and alcohol-related mortality can further tax hospital resources.
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Drug and alcohol review · Nov 2020
Self-managing illicit stimulant use: A qualitative study with patients receiving injectable opioid agonist treatment.
Illicit stimulant use is prevalent among patients receiving injectable opioid agonist treatment (iOAT) and has been associated with early treatment discontinuation and illicit opioid use. Despite these concerns, little is known about the use of illicit stimulants in this population. As such, this study aimed to explore the processes by which patients receiving iOAT engage in the use of illicit stimulants. ⋯ For patients with opioid use disorder and concurrent stimulant use disorder, access to iOAT can promote the self-management of illicit stimulant use. Daily visits to the clinic for opioid agonist treatment present an important opportunity to offer services and supports for patients who use illicit stimulants. Interventions can be guided by patients, recognising them as experts in the management of their stimulant use.
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Drug and alcohol review · Sep 2020
Survey methods and characteristics of a sample of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous people who have recently used methamphetamine: the NIMAC survey.
There is a need for detailed information on methamphetamine use in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We describe a national survey on methamphetamine use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people. ⋯ We recruited and surveyed a large sample of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from which we can derive detailed comparative data on methamphetamine use and related health service needs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australians.