The Policy and Communications team at Adfam have asked us to relay this call-out to ISSUP members and the international DDR community...

Adfam is a UK-based charity that improves life for families affected by someone else’s substance use.

We’ve heard through our frontline projects, findings from an online survey, activity on our online family forum and statements from partner organisations that Covid-19 is resulting in a number of additional challenges for families in the UK that are affected in this way. These challenges are complex and multifaceted and include:

• An increase in domestic...

COVID-19 is a global health crisis that is increasing the workload of healthcare professionals around the world.

In order to support practitioners during these critical circumstances, it is essential that everyone is informed about other health risks and hazards so that they can stay safe and healthy.

The following factsheet provides important information that you should know about alcohol consumption and COVID-19.

It addresses, among other things, the misinformation that is being spread through social media and other communication channels about alcohol and COVID-19.

GENERATING SYSTEM-WIDE ALCOHOL SCREENING AND BRIEF INTERVENTION

Latest instalment of fortnightly course on the evidence for alcohol treatment and brief interventions. Context is that Britain’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) insists commissioners and managers “must” generate a system which provides the training, resources and time needed for routine brief intervention. Find out what happened when that was tried in Scotland, and develop evidence-informed understanding of four key issues:

- Advice is to commission for quality as well as quantity – but what is quality?

There is evidence to suggest that adolescents who receive alcohol from their parents are at higher risk of developing harmful drinking patterns later on in life.

Despite the concerning link, the knowledge around this subject remains unclear. 

A recent study in Australia has sought to gain a more reliable understanding of the issue through analysing longitudinal data.

The researchers collected information from 1906 school children recruited in the first year of secondary school. The researchers were particularly interested in asking the children whether their parents gave, or allowed them to...

Trauma, especially during childhood, can negatively impact the way our brains develop.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events experienced before reaching the age of 18, including but not limited to abuse or neglect in childhood and distressing family events such as witnessing domestic violence or a parent going to prison. 

Alcohol and other drugs can also impact on the way the brain develops, especially if someone has a history of trauma.

It is vital that services providing support for people with alcohol and other drug issues are mindful of the potential...

MANAGEMENT’S INFLUENCE ON ALCOHOL SCREENING AND BRIEF INTERVENTION

Key studies on management’s influence on the delivery and effectiveness of screening and brief intervention for risky drinking. ‘Bite’ commentary starts with UK guidance which insists managers “must” support this work, highlights the study which presaged a shift from universal to selective screening, and develops evidence-informed understanding of four important issues:
- Whether to insist on these procedures or let clinicians and patients decide their own priorities
- The degree to which management is the key to ensuring...