A new bulletin has been published collecting together the latest documents added to the
Effectiveness Bank. The focus in this issue is methadone maintenance - how it saves and enhances
life and at the same time limits it. Prevention specialists will also be interested in the latest
findings from one of the most influential early years intervention studies.
To view the whole bulletin click the following link:
http://findings.org.uk/docs/bulletins/Bull_03_11_11.php
or click the links below to view an entry in the bulletin. If clicking does not work, paste the link
in to your web browser address box, being sure to enter the whole address.
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METHADONE IMPROVES AS WELL AS SAVES LIVES
Methadone saves lives - but does it also make those lives better? The first systematic review of
research on the quality of life of opiate users finds this generally improves once they start
treatment, but few studies have assessed what counts as a good life from the point of view of the
patient rather than the broader society.
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=De_Maeyer_J_1.txt
METHADONE BOTH A PLATFORM FOR AND LIMIT ON A GOOD QUALITY OF LIFE
The implications of this study could hardly be more relevant to UK debates about reorienting
treatment to a recovery agenda and the role within that of methadone maintenance. In-depth accounts
from opiate dependent methadone patients in Belgium of what for them constitutes a good quality of
life reveal themes shared with the population in general: a meaningful, independent life and
supportive relationships. Methadone creates the preconditions for such a life, but at the same time
stigma, the requirements of the treatment programme, and the effects of the medication, limit its
achievement.
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=De_Maeyer_J_2.txt
*new* METHADONE PLUS SYRINGES STRONG HARM REDUCTION COMBINATION
Reminiscent of findings from the UK and the Netherlands, from Baltimore in the USA, evidence that
encouraging syringe exchange participants to enter (mainly methadone) treatment will reduce their
drug use, crime and injecting more than syringe exchange alone.
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=Kidorf_M_8.cab
*new* COMMISSIONING GUIDANCE FROM ENGLISH TREATMENT IMPROVEMENT AUTHORITY
Guidance to funding authorities on how to construct a local pattern of services from the National
Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, the special English health authority tasked to improve the
availability, capacity and effectiveness of drug misuse treatment.
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=NTA_10.cab
NO LONG-TERM SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION IMPACTS FROM EARLY YEARS SUPPORT
In their prevention themes, British drug strategies place considerable weight on early years
parenting support; whatever else such efforts may achieve, this seminal US study did not find any
long-term effects on substance use and evidence from other studies is thin.
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=Eckenrode_J_1.txt
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Effectiveness Bank alerts are provided by Drug and Alcohol Findings (http://findings.org.uk) to
alert you to site updates and recent UK-relevant evaluation studies and reviews of drug/alcohol
interventions. Findings is managed by DrugScope, Alcohol Concern and the National Addiction Centre.
The Effectiveness Bank is supported by Alcohol Research UK (formerly the AERC).
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