Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy
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Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy · Aug 2015
Usage and perceptions of anabolic-androgenic steroids among male fitness centre attendees in Kuwait--a cross-sectional study.
Considering the recent popularity of bodybuilding and the apparent spread of anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) use amongst bodybuilding enthusiasts in Kuwait, there is a relative lack of scientific investigation into the use, knowledge and attitudes towards AAS amongst the population at risk of abusing it. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the frequency, knowledge, attitudes and practice of AAS use amongst male fitness centre attendees in Kuwait. ⋯ The usage of AAS is high amongst male gym users in Kuwait and is likely to present an additional burden to the health service. An effective initiative to minimize the burden of AAS abuse should focus on changing the attitudes towards AAS rather than spreading awareness of their side effects.
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Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy · Jul 2015
A scoping study of cultural interventions to treat addictions in Indigenous populations: methods, strategies and insights from a Two-Eyed Seeing approach.
This paper describes the methods, strategies and insights gained from a scoping study using a "Two-Eyed Seeing" approach. An evolving technique, Two-Eyed Seeing respects and integrates the strengths of Indigenous knowledge and Western sciences, often "weaving back and forth" between the two worldviews. The scoping study was used to inform a tool for measuring the impact of culturally based addictions treatment services on wellness in Indigenous populations. It formed part of a three-year study, Honouring Our Strengths: Indigenous Culture as Intervention in Addictions Treatment. The scoping study identified and mapped literature on cultural interventions in addictions treatment, and described the nature, extent and gaps in literature. ⋯ This paper adds to the collective work on augmenting the methodology of scoping studies. Despite the challenges of a Two-Eyed Seeing approach, it enables researchers using scoping studies to develop knowledge that is better able to translate into meaningful findings for Indigenous communities.
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Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy · Jan 2015
Implementing buprenorphine in addiction treatment: payer and provider perspectives in Ohio.
Buprenorphine is under-utilized in treating opioid addiction. Payers and providers both have substantial influence over the adoption and use of this medication to enhance recovery. Their views could provide insights into the barriers and facilitators in buprenorphine adoption. ⋯ This qualitative analysis found that attitudes toward use of medication and medication funding environment play important roles in an organization's decision to begin buprenorphine use and that physician availability influences an organization's ability to expand buprenorphine use over time. Additional education, reimbursement support, and policy changes are needed to support buprenorphine adoption and use, along with a greater understanding of the roles payers, providers, and regulators play in the adoption of targeted practices.
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Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy · Jan 2015
Views about responsibility for alcohol addiction and negative evaluations of naltrexone.
Moral philosophers have debated the extent to which persons are individually responsible for the onset of and recovery from addiction. Empirical investigators have begun to explore counselors' attitudes on these questions. Meanwhile, a separate literature has investigated counselors' negative attitudes towards naltrexone, an important element of medication-assisted treatment for alcohol addiction. The present study bridges the literature on counselor views about responsibility for addiction with the literature on attitudes towards naltrexone. It investigates the extent to which a counselor's views of individual responsibility for alcohol addiction are related to that counselor's views of naltrexone. ⋯ We conclude that there is a strong relationship between a counselor assigning higher individual responsibility for addiction and holding more negative views about naltrexone. The study also sheds light on one reason why the model of addiction as a brain disease has had limited impact on clinical practice.
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Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy · May 2014
A qualitative exploration of attitudes towards alcohol, and the role of parents and peers of two alcohol-attitude-based segments of the adolescent population.
An earlier study using social marketing and audience segmentation distinguished five segments of Dutch adolescents aged 12-18 years based on their attitudes towards alcohol. The present, qualitative study focuses on two of these five segments ('ordinaries' and 'ordinary sobers') and explores the attitudes of these two segments towards alcohol, and the role of parents and peers in their alcohol use in more detail. ⋯ Qualitative insight into the attitudes towards alcohol and the role played by parents and peers, revealed differences between ordinaries and ordinary sobers. Based on these differences and on health education theories, starting points for the development of interventions, for both parents and adolescents, are formulated. Important starting points for interventions targeting ordinaries are reducing perceived peer pressure and learning to make one's own choices. For the ordinary sobers, an important starting point includes enabling them to express to others that they do not feel the need to drink alcohol. Starting points for parents include setting strict rules, restricting alcohol availability at home and monitoring their child's alcohol use.