Effectiveness of a Feedback-Based Brief Intervention to Reduce Alcohol Use in Community Substance Use Disorders.
Effectiveness of a Feedback-Based Brief Intervention to Reduce Alcohol Use in Community Substance Use Disorders.
Alcohol Treat Q. 2013; 31(186): 186-205
Worden BL, McCrady BS
Feedback brief interventions for alcohol use problems have been highly effective with undergraduate populations. However, there has been little research on the effectiveness of administering feedback alone to community treatment populations. The goal of the current study was to assess the effectiveness of a feedback brief intervention in a community treatment setting with patients characterized largely by dependence on alcohol and drugs, ethnic diversity, and low socioeconomic status. It was hypothesized that pre-treatment brief individualized feedback would reduce alcohol consumption and increase participation in subsequent treatment for a substance use disorder (SUD). Participants were recruited from a public hospital’s SUD clinic. After the intake but prior to entry into the treatment as usual, 121 participants were randomized to receive personalized feedback or a condition without feedback. Eighty-seven participants completed post-intervention follow-up interviews and were included in the final analyses. Repeated measures ANOVAs and MANCOVAs were used to examine variables obtained from the Addiction Severity Index (ASI; McLellan et al., 1992) of drinking quantity and frequency, and motivation for treatment. Results indicated that personalized feedback delivered no benefit beyond that of pre-treatment assessment procedures (phone screening and intake interview) alone. Intervention conditions did not differ on other outcomes at follow-up, including days of heavy drinking, motivation for treatment, or drug use frequency. Therefore, feedback-based brief interventions may be not helpful in reducing the drinking frequency and intensity of individuals presenting to community-based substance use treatment. HubMed – addiction
‘I can’t be an addict. I am.’ Over-the-counter medicine abuse: a qualitative study.
BMJ Open. 2013; 3(6):
Cooper RJ
Over-the-counter (OTC) pharmacy medicines are considered relatively safe in contrast to prescribed and illicit substances, but their abuse and addiction potential is increasingly recognised. Those affected represent a hard to reach group, with little known about their experiences. Study objectives were to describe the experiences and views of those self-reporting OTC medicine abuse, and why medicines were taken, how they were obtained and associated treatment and support sought.Qualitative study using in-depth mainly telephone interviews.A purposive sample of 25 adults, aged 20-60s, 13 women.UK, via two internet support groups.Individuals considered themselves ‘addicted’, but socially and economically active and different from illicit substance misusers. They blamed themselves for losing control over their medicine use, which usually began for genuine medical reasons and not experimentation and was often linked to the cessation of, or ongoing, medical prescribing. Codeine, in compound analgesics, was the main medicine implicated with three distinct dose ranges emerging with decongestant and sedative antihistamine abuse also being reported. Subsequent use was for the ‘buzz’ or similar effects of the opiate, which was obtained unproblematically by having lists of pharmacies to visit and occasionally using internet suppliers. Perceived withdrawal symptoms were described for all three dose ranges, and work and health problems were reported with higher doses. Mixed views about different treatment and support options emerged with standard drug treatment services being considered inappropriate for OTC medicines and concerns that this ‘hidden addiction’ was recorded in medical notes. Most supported the continued availability of OTC medicines with appropriate addiction warnings.Greater awareness of the addiction potential of OTC medicines is needed for the public, pharmacists and medical prescribers, along with appropriate communication about, and reviews of, treatment and support options, for this distinct group. HubMed – addiction
The role of gender in housing for individuals with severe mental illness: a qualitative study of the Canadian service context.
BMJ Open. 2013; 3(6):
Kidd SA, Virdee G, Krupa T, Burnham D, Hemingway D, Margolin I, Patterson M, Zabkiewicz D
This study was undertaken to examine the role of gender as it relates to access to housing among individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) in Canada.An exploratory, qualitative approach was used to assess the perspectives of Canadian housing experts. The focus of inquiry was on the role of gender and associated intersections (eg, ethnicity) in pathways to housing access and housing needs for individuals with SMI.A purposeful sampling strategy was undertaken to access respondents across all Canadian geographic regions, with diversity across settings (urban and rural) and service sectors (hospital based and community based).-29 individuals (6 men and 23 women) considered to be experts in a housing service context as it pertains to SMI were recruited. On average, participants had worked for 15 years in services that specialised in the support and delivery of housing services to people with SMI.Semistructured interviews with participants focused on the role gender plays in access to housing in their specific context. Barriers and facilitators were examined as were intersections with other relevant factors, such as ethnicity, poverty and parenthood. Quantitative ratings of housing accessibility as a function of gender were also collected.Participants across geographic contexts described a lack of shelter facilities for women, leading to a reliance on exploitative circumstances. Other findings included a compounding of discrimination for ethnic minority women, the unique resource problems faced in rural contexts, and the difficulties that attend access to shelter and housing for parents with SMI.These findings suggest that, along with a generally poor availability of housing stock for individuals with SMI, access problems are compounded by a lack of attention to the unique needs and illness trajectories that attend gender. HubMed – addiction
Dual Role of PPAR-? in Induction and Expression of Behavioral Sensitization to Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist WIN55,212-2.
Neuromolecular Med. 2013 Jun 21;
Enayatfard L, Rostami F, Nasoohi S, Oryan S, Ahmadiani A, Dargahi L
Behavioral sensitization (B.S.) is a pathophysiological animal model for stimulant-induced psychosis and addiction. Accumulated evidence indicates that inflammatory processes are involved in psychostimulants effects in the CNS. Cannabinoids like WIN55,212-2 act as potential activators of PPAR-? and affects the inflammatory status of the CNS. The purpose of this study is to determine PPAR-? role in induction and expression of B.S. and the coincident inflammatory responses developed by WIN55,212-2 (WIN). Using open-field test, locomotor activity was monitored in animals treated with intraperitoneal low-dose WIN single or repeated injections. Concurrent striatal COX-2 and TNF-? levels and PPAR-? activity were determined by immunoblotting assay. Effects of concomitant chronic or acute PPAR-? pharmacological inhibition (with GW9662) were then investigated on behavioral and biochemical variables. WIN enhanced locomotor activity and while administered chronically augmented cytosolic COX-2 and TNF-? and also PPAR-? nuclear levels. GW9662 co-administration completely prevented the induction of sensitizing effects of chronic WIN and altered the inflammatory responses. However, the expression of B.S. was intensified with GW9662 as assessed by increased locomotion after WIN challenge following 48 h withdrawal. Neuroinflammation and locomotor excitability in animals received just a single-dose WIN were also escalated with GW9662. Our findings conclude that PPAR-? could play different key roles during B.S. development by WIN. Although PPAR-? is mostly known for neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects, our data indicate that it mediates the B.S. induction by chronic WIN. However, while the B.S. was induced, PPAR-? could play a homeostatic role opposing the expressed B.S. escalation. HubMed – addiction