Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy
-
Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy · Feb 2018
ReviewEvaluation of the psychometric properties of self-reported measures of alcohol consumption: a COSMIN systematic review.
To review studies about the reliability and validity of self-reported alcohol consumption measures among adults, an area which needs updating to reflect current research. ⋯ It was difficult to discern conclusively which measure was the most reliable and valid given that no study assessed all psychometric properties and the included studies varied in the psychometric properties that they selected to assess. However, when the results from the range of studies were considered and summed, they tended to indicate that the quantity-frequency measure compared to the other two measures performed best in psychometric terms and, therefore, it is likely to produce the most reliable and valid assessment of alcohol consumption in population surveys.
-
Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy · Jan 2018
Major depressive disorder and access to health services among people who use illicit drugs in Vancouver, Canada.
People who use illicit drugs (PWUD) are commonly diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, little is known about whether PWUD living with MDD experience additional barriers to accessing health services compared to those without MDD. We sought to identify whether MDD symptoms were associated with perceived barriers to accessing health services among people who use illicit drugs (PWUD) in Vancouver, Canada. ⋯ These findings show that the likelihood of experiencing barriers to accessing health services was higher among PWUD with MDD symptoms compared to their counterparts. Policies and interventions tailored to address these barriers are urgently needed for this subpopulation of PWUD.
-
Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy · Aug 2017
The impact of subsidized low aromatic fuel (LAF) on petrol (gasoline) sniffing in remote Australian indigenous communities.
Since 2005, the Australian Government has subsidized the production and distribution of Low Aromatic Fuel (LAF) as a deterrent against petrol (gasoline) sniffing in remote Indigenous communities. LAF is used in place of unleaded petrol as a fuel for vehicles and other engines. This paper reports findings from an independent evaluation of the LAF rollout. ⋯ The rollout of LAF appears to have contributed to reducing petrol sniffing and associated harms in Australian Indigenous communities.
-
Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy · Aug 2017
ReviewChronic pain and opioid misuse: a review of reviews.
The crisis of prescription opioid (PO) related harms has focused attention toward identifying and treating high-risk populations. This review aims to synthesize systematic reviews on the epidemiology and clinical management of comorbid chronic pain and PO or other substance misuse. ⋯ Overall, current systematic reviews have found a lack of high-quality evidence or consistent findings on the prevalence, risk factors, and optimal clinical assessment and treatment approaches related to concurrent chronic pain and substance misuse. Given the role of systematic reviews in guiding evidence-based medicine and health policy, there is an urgent need for high-quality primary research to guide future systematic reviews to address the escalating epidemic of harms related to chronic pain and substance misuse.
-
Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy · May 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialMen's and women's response to treatment and perceptions of outcomes in a randomized controlled trial of injectable opioid assisted treatment for severe opioid use disorder.
To test whether there are gender differences in treatment outcomes among patients receiving injectable opioids for the treatment of long-term opioid-dependence. The study additionally explores whether men and women have different perceptions of treatment effectiveness. ⋯ Despite presenting to treatment with vulnerabilities not faced to the same extent by men, at six-months women did not differ significantly from men in tested trial efficacy outcomes. While the primary outcome in the trial was the reduction of illicit opioid use, in the open-ended responses both men and women focused their comments on improvement in health and quality of life as reasons for treatment effectiveness. The supervised model of care with injectable medications provides a particularly suitable framework for providing care to opioid-dependent men and women not attracted or retained by other treatments. The absence of statistical differences reported in this secondary analysis may be due to lack of adequate statistical power to detect meaningful effects.