The Cochrane Collaboration, now twenty years old, conducts systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of health-care interventions. But how relevant is the RCT to the addictions field? RCT is on trial here with Tim Leighton and Ed Day. The evidence debate (PDF) Additional…
Tag Archive for treatment
Druglink interview 2013 – Professor John Strang by Harry Shapiro
A series of three recent papers in The Lancet summarised the findings of a six year project published as ‘Drug Policy and the Public Good’ published in 2010. John Strang was part of that project and here we discuss the general process of gathering and reviewing…
Druglink Findings 2013 – Costs of failure to offer maintenance prescribing in prisons
An international team of experts led by Dagmar Hedrich of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction has argued that failure to implement effective opioid maintenance in prisons represents an important and possibly costly missed opportunity to engage high-risk drug users in treatment. Costs of failure…
Druglink article 2013 – Sometimes it’s best to break the rules by Mike Ashton
When the mandates of motivational interviewing mean you seem less than genuine, the socially skilled counsellor will do more of what comes naturally. Motivational interviewing is the most influential counselling style in substance use treatment. Its originator William Miller reframed resistance as neither the manifestation of…
Druglink interview 2013 – Carole Sharma
Since the late 1990s, there has been significant investment in drug treatment services to the point where the major providers constitute a medium size industry. But has the expertise of the workforce kept pace with such rapid commercial development? Carole Sharma, Chief Executive of the Federation of…
Druglink article 2000 – Clear classification – simple service evaluation by George Christo
An evaluation tool is available that satisfies research requirements (CISS – Christo Inventory for Substance Misuse Services) and is easily used by busy drug workers Clear classification – simple service evaluation (PDF)
Druglink article 2013 – Pills, Thrills and a Bellyache by Beth Burgess
Would a gun to the head make an alcoholic put down the bottle? Maybe. Would surgically removing an addict’s veins prevent them injecting drugs? I guess so. But do either of these things promote a healthy recovery? Absolutely not. Yet methods of cutting alcohol and drug consumption…
Druglink article 2013 – Ace in the hole by Harry Shapiro
The ground-breaking Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE ) study demonstrated a clear correlation between childhood trauma (including parental substance misuse) and later ill-health – not least addiction. Ace in the hole (PDF) Additional keywords: parents / children / treatment outcomes
Druglink article 2013 – The end of the road by Neil McKeganey
Neil McKeganey argues that there should be standards or guidance to help determine how long drug treatment, whether a medical or psychological intervention, should continue. The world of UK drug treatment is being influenced by two big ideas that, to an extent, are pulling…
Druglink article 2013 – Dignity in death by Chrissie Dawson
Could the Six Steps of the national End of Life Care Pathway be applied to support people who are homeless and use substances? In Southampton, the rise in frequency of hospital attendance at A&E among people who were homeless and using substances, particularly alcohol, prompted commissioners…