Drug and alcohol review
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Drug and alcohol review · Nov 2012
Evaluation of online training for the provision of opioid substitution treatment by community pharmacists in New Zealand.
The role of community pharmacists in the provision of opioid substitution treatment (OST) is pivotal and integral to addiction treatment. An online training program for pharmacists in OST management was piloted in New Zealand in 2010, following recognition of the difficulty in recruitment and retention of community pharmacists to provide OST services. Our aim was to evaluate the OST online training that was made available for any community pharmacist in New Zealand and to establish the feasibility and acceptability of this format of training for community pharmacists. The evaluation explored participants' attitudes, skills and knowledge both pre- and post-training in OST. ⋯ Online training is an appropriate and economical method of improving pharmacists' clinical skills with respect to this client group, and has the potential to reach a wider audience of pharmacists. Further research is required to investigate OST client experiences in community pharmacy.
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Drug and alcohol review · Jul 2012
The influence of neighbourhood disadvantage on smoking cessation and its contribution to inequalities in smoking status.
Individual smokers from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to quit, which contributes to widening inequalities in smoking. Residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods are more likely to smoke, and neighbourhood inequalities in smoking may also be widening because of neighbourhood differences in rates of cessation. This study examined the association between neighbourhood disadvantage and smoking cessation and its relationship with neighbourhood inequalities in smoking. ⋯ Fundamentally, social and economic inequalities at the neighbourhood and individual levels cause smoking and cessation inequalities. Reducing these inequalities will require comprehensive, well-funded and targeted tobacco control efforts and equity-based policies that address the social and economic determinants of smoking.
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Drug and alcohol review · Jul 2012
The risk status, screening history and health concerns of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people attending an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service.
Primary health-care services need to maximise prevention activities to improve the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This study determined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's risk status and screening history for cardiovascular, diabetes and cancer, and identified opportunities for prevention based on patient's health concerns. ⋯ Many patients were at high risk, and were concerned about the health risks they experience. Strategies are needed to help clinic staff identify risks, and maximise prevention activities according to best-practice guidelines, particularly to patients who experience multiple risk factors.
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Drug and alcohol review · Jun 2012
The long-term effect of lockouts on alcohol-related emergency department attendances within Ballarat, Australia.
Alcohol has consistently been demonstrated to increase levels of aggression and violence, particularly in late night licensed venues. Since August 2003, Ballarat (a regional city of approximately 95,000 inhabitants, in Victoria, Australia) has implemented a 3:00 AM 'lockout' with the goal of reducing alcohol-related harms. This paper is the first long-term analysis of the effect of this type of intervention on emergency department (ED) attendances. The aim of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of a lockout intervention within the city of Ballarat, Victoria on alcohol-related ED presentations. ⋯ There is no discernible long-term impact on alcohol-related ED attendances of the lockout intervention in Ballarat. As such, other interventions may be more appropriate to reduce alcohol-related ED attendances.
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Drug and alcohol review · Jun 2012
Why the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia is not a credible partner for the Australian government in making alcohol policy.
In 2008 the Australian government increased the excise rate on ready-to-drink premixed spirits or 'alcopops' by 70% to reduce their attraction to young people. A campaign against the decision was led by the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia, whose members include representatives of the world's largest spirits producers and which aspires to partner the government in making alcohol policy. ⋯ For spirits producers to concede that drinking spirits is generically hazardous may be unprecedented and contradicts the spirits industry's long-standing opposition to the introduction of health warnings on product labels. Although that admission did not survive the resolution of the case, the effect may be profound, as it might justify the demand for greater control of the labelling and marketing of spirits, and reduce the credibility of spirits producers, and the broader alcohol industry, on matters of policy.