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TAG CLOUD
June 14, 2013
CHILD GUARDIAN REPORT
The Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian recently concluded an investigation into the placement and support arrangements for a young person with challenging behavioural issues and at a high risk of harm. The report contains a number of recommendations to improve the support for young people in care, many of which are relevant to services who work with young people with alcohol and other drug use issues. The report considers issues such as the value of evidence based decision making, collaboration and information sharing, and incorporating a young person's views and wishes about their placement.
Download "Child Guardian Summary Report: An investigation into placement and support arrangements for a young person at high risk of harm" (715KB PDF)
Posted in: Research
June 14, 2013
AUSTRALIAN WINTER SCHOOL CONFERENCE 17TH - 19TH OF JULY
The Australian Winter School Conference program has been released and there are a number of sessions which will be of interest to Dovetail subscribers. The conference which is happening in Brisbane from the 17th to the 19th of July featurers speakers including Laurel Downey from ACT Care presenting on "Trauma informed practice: working with young people", Geoff Munro from the Australian Drug Foundation is presenting "Marketing to an alcoholic society", and Dr Michael Livingston is presenting on "The impacts of policy on consumption and harm." Following the conference on Friday the 19th of July, a number of satellite workshops are also being held. Topics include "Getting clients off your case: developing effective professional partnerships" and "The art of happiness for AOD workers: how to prevent stress and burnout in the workplace."
Find out more info from the Australian Winter School Website.
Posted in: Research
June 7, 2013
VICTORIAN AMBO PROJECT 2011-12 RESULTS
Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre have published a report titled "Trends in Alcohol and Drug Related Ambulance Attendances in Victoria: 2011-12". This report examines non-fatal drug related events attended by ambulances Victoria, and provides a snapshot of changes in drug trends and issues. The most recent report indicates increased ambulance call outs for alcohol related issues, inhalants and cocaine use. The largest rise was in ambulance call outs for crystal methamphetamine, which rose from 282 call outs in 2010/11 to 592 call outs in 2011/12.
Download "Trends in Alcohol and Drug Related Ambulance Attendances in Victoria: 2011-12". (Warning: Large File 13MB PDF)
Posted in: Research
May 31, 2013
IS TABLOID OUTRAGE JUST GETTING MORE PEOPLE INTO LEGAL HIGHS?
It's been well known that media interest in substance use issues can increase rates of use. This has been most evident in the rise of so-called "legal highs". Tabloid media reporting, particularly online, has been guilty of popularising a number of new drugs. This was seen in Australia with the widespread reporting of the rise of "Kronic" which lead directly to increases in Google searches for this drug. Google Ads were often found on the same page as the media article, meaning that someone could read about a new drug and directly click through to an online company selling the substance. Vice magazine addresses this issue in an article that goes through some examples of this type of reporting and the ways that sales were increased through media reporting.
Go to "Is tabloid outrage just getting more people into legal highs?"
Posted in: Research
May 24, 2013
ILLICIT DRUG DATA REPORT 2011-12
The Australian Crime Commission have published their annual "Illicit Drug Data Report 2011-12". The report contains information on drug trends as seen by law enforcement. While these trends can reflect changes in police activity rather than actual drug trends, the report does contain some useful information for services. In this most recent report perhaps the most notable trend has been the increase in detections of performance and image enhancing drugs seized by Customs at the Australian border.
Read more of the Illicit Drug Data Report 2011/12 here
Posted in: Research
May 24, 2013
INVENTOR OF SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS SPEAKS ABOUT "HERBAL HIGHS"
The New Zealand Drug Foundation publishes a quarterly magazine titled "Matters of Substance" and the current issue contains an interview with John W. Huffman, inventor of drugs such as JWH-018 (the ingredient of Kronic). These drugs are designed to mimic the effects of THC (the active ingredient in cannabis) whilst skirting legal restrictions. In the article titled "Playing Russian Roulette" Dr Huffman describes his concerns about the use of the chemicals that he invented, stating in the article "The synthetics are harmful, they're dangerous."
Read the full article here.
Posted in: Research
May 17, 2013
HOW INTEGRATED ARE HOMELESSNESS, MENTAL HEALTH AND AOD SERVICES IN AUSTRALIA
The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) have published a report titled "How integrated are homelessness, mental health and drug and alcohol services in Australia?" The report is the final report of a project which has been looking at the most effective ways to integrate services to reduce homelessness in Australia. The report looks at services in Melbourne and Perth and considered different levels of integration between the various services. The report found that clients from more integrated services reported more positive outcomes than clients from less well integrated services.
Download "How integrated are homelessness, mental health and drug and alcohol services in Australia?" (2MB PDF)
Posted in: Research
May 17, 2013
NO MORE "ABUSE"
There's been a lot of media recently about the pending release of the DSM-5 - the manual which describes the criteria for various mental health conditions. While there has been a large amount of criticism of the new DSM there is one change which many think is a long time coming - the removal of the term "abuse" from substance related disorders. An article published on the American website "The Fix" provides an overview of this change explaining the negative impacts of terms like "abuse" on people with substance use issues. The author states that it's time that we banish once and for all terms like "abuse" from our language.
Read "No more Addict Abuse" here.
Posted in: Research
May 10, 2013
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR NEW PLAYERS 4TH EDITION
The Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia (ADCA) have published the latest edition of their "Tips and Tricks for New Players: A guide to becoming familiar with the alcohol and other drugs sector". This guide contains everything a new worker needs to know about the alcohol and other drug sector including information on the major organisations working in the area, definitions of key terms, acronyms and abbreviations, as well as some information on specific intervention areas such as therapeutic communities and working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
For more information or to download electronic copies go to the ADCA website.
Posted in: Research
May 10, 2013
IDENTITY AND MEANING IN THE LIVES OF VULNERABLE YOUNG PEOPLE
The Institute of Child Protection Studies at the Australian Catholic University have published a research report titled "Me, Myself and I: Identity and meaning in the lives of vulnerable young people." The researchers interviewed 24 vulnerable young people in order to understand the role and potency of identity and meaning in their lives. The young people described experiences of trauma and loss and seemed to base their sense of identity and meaning around the things that had been lacking in their lives - including the importance of family and respect. This allowed the young people to re-frame their experiences into an identity of "survivor pride".
Download "Me, Myself and I: Identity and meaning in the lives of vulnerable young people." (1.6MB PDF)
Posted in: Research
