Hello all

The below came through on another email jisc list i belong to!  There are 
some good articles in 'Findings' and as it is now free I thought i'd pass 
it on.

All the best

Sarah

From 8 December 2007 ISSUE 5 of the DRUG AND ALCOHOL FINDINGS magazine 
became available free of charge as downloadable PDFs (Adobe Acrobat 
files). Access the entire issue from 
http://findings.org.uk/issuesResults.php5 or by clicking the BROWSE 
MAGAZINE link on the home page. Search for documents from this and other 
issues by clicking SEARCH BY TOPIC on the home page.

There are 12 Nuggets, four full articles, and for the first time 
three 'Nuggettes' - very brief summaries of studies we couldn't fit in as 
Nuggets. Each document comes with an underlying fully referenced text in 
PDF and (to make it easier to copy and paste from) Word format. Some 
highlights...


PREVENTING OPIATE OVERDOSE
Based on the world's most thorough review of the causes of opiate 
overdose, an international team investigate ways to reduce the increasing 
death rate. Key message, the deaths are preventable, and preventing them 
is within our reach.
All it takes is some stretching.
Choose OVERDOSING ON OPIATES PART II: PREVENTION from the issue 5 listing 
or go direct to:
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=Best_D_18.pdf


CYCLE OF CHANGE - NICE MODEL, BUT IS IT ANY USE?
Definitive critique of Prochaska and DiClemente's ubiquitous model. From 
its central premise that it is concerned only with intentional change, the 
model unfolds predictably but helps us feel we know what's going on. Major 
limitations are that adjusting interventions to stage rarely improves 
outcomes and that not all change is intentional.
Choose CYCLE OF CHANGE from the issue 5 listing or go direct
to:
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=Davidson_R_1.pdf

A bonus article in draft addresses the other sort of change - the non-
intentional sort, now modelled using catastrophe theory by US and English 
researchers.
Go direct to:
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=Ashton_M_30.doc


FIRST STUDY TO RANDOMISE OPIATE ADDICTS TO INJECTABLE VERSUS ORAL 
METHADONE MAINTENANCE Groundbreaking UK study finds injectables benefit 
only the more severely affected patients and are less cost-effective than 
oral medication, but it's essential to understand that injectables were 
tested in a role few practitioners would endorse.
Choose INJECTABLE METHADONE MAINTENANCE SUITABLE FOR MORE SEVERELY 
AFFECTED HEROIN ADDICTS from the issue 5 listing or go direct to:
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=nug_5_10.pdf


BRIEF CRACKDOWNS ON UNDERAGE ALCOHOL SALES COULD MAKE THINGS WORSE That's 
one implication of a test-purchase study in two English cities. 
Shockingly, over 8 in 10 16-year-olds were sold alcohol and it got WORSE 
after police warnings to licensees. Reason? The warnings led to a brief 
drop, but it seems that once they thought the crackdown was over, 
licensees actually sold more often.
Choose PERSISTENT AND CREDIBLE ENFORCEMENT NEEDED TO PREVENT WIDESPREAD 
ALCOHOL SALES TO UNDER-18s from the issue 5 listing or go direct to:
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=nug_5_12.pdf


IS ACUPUNCTURE A WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME?
Well maybe not if it brings in the clients, but it doesn't always improve 
retention and is rarely found to improve substance use outcomes. These two 
partially positive new studies on drinkers and stimulant users are not 
enough to dispel the doubts.
Choose ACUPUNCTURE: EFFECTIVENESS STILL IN DOUBT from the issue 5 listing 
or go direct to:
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=nug_5_7.pdf