This Cochrane systematic review examined the effectiveness of electronic health record-facilitated interventions on smoking cessation activity by clinicians and on patient smoking cessation outcomes. The review shows these interventions improve the documentation of tobacco use and referral to cessation counselling, but does not demonstrate an improvement in patients actually giving up smoking. While smoking rates [read the full story…]
In April 2013, subject to the Health and Social Care Bill becoming law, local authorities will become responsible for commissioning drug treatment and recovery services. An effective approach to tackling substance misuse will require partnership working across local authorities, health bodies and criminal justice agencies. The object is not only for individuals to overcome dependency, [read the full story…]
Cross sectional studies (Mordal et al) tell us that around a third of patients admitted to acute psychiatric wards have illicit drugs detected in their system on admission. A third of patients also report a need for professional help in relation to their substance use. This new systematic review from researchers at York University (Mdege [read the full story…]
Campaigns in the media that encourage people not to take illicit drugs are now commonplace in the US, but a systematic review of the effectiveness of these interventions has not been conducted until now. A team of researchers from Vancouver in Canada have carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of 7 randomised controlled trials [read the full story…]
All mental health professionals are well aware that depression and alcohol misuse frequently go hand in hand. One condition often complicates and affects the outcome of the other. NICE guidelines recommend treating the alcohol problems first and then after 3-4 weeks of abstinence focus on treating the comorbid mental illness if it’s still present. This [read the full story…]
Evidence-based drug policy is a phrase you don’t read that often. Many searches for this phrase return articles that explore why we don’t have evidence-based policies for illicit drugs and why the evidence base is weak in this area. A group of international researchers and policy makers (including two UK-based professionals) are trying to buck [read the full story…]
More young people are overcoming their problems with drug and alcohol misuse than ever before, according to the latest statistics for England released by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA). 75% (10,507) of under-18s leaving drug and alcohol services last year successfully completed their programmes, compared to 48% (4,105) five years ago. The [read the full story…]
The NHS Information Centre have published their annual statistical report presenting information on drug misuse among both adults and children, which this year has a focus on young adults. The bulletin also summarises Government plans and targets in this area, as well as providing sources of further information and links to relevant documents. The topics [read the full story…]
Readers interested in preventing alcohol misuse in young people will find these two new systematic reviews from the Cochrane Library worth looking at in more detail. Both reviews have been conducted by researchers from Brookes University in Oxford, who searched for randomised controlled trials including school aged children up to 18 years old. The first [read the full story…]
Alcohol misuse is common in people with mental health problems and the rates of drinking are particularly high in bipolar disorder. Studies show that the lifetime prevalence of substance use disorders is at least 40% in bipolar I patients (ref Cerullo et al). Researchers from Newcastle University in the UK have conducted a systematic review [read the full story…]
