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
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