@misc{ndc28053,
          volume = {17},
          number = {1},
           month = {October},
          author = {John D Mooney and John Holmes and Lucy Gavens and Frank de Vocht and Matt Hickman and Karen Lock and Alan Brennan},
           title = {Investigating local policy drivers for alcohol harm prevention: a comparative case study of two local authorities in England.},
       publisher = {BioMed Central},
            year = {2017},
         journal = {BMC Public Health},
           pages = {825},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/28053/},
        abstract = {BACKGROUND: The considerable challenges associated with implementing national level alcohol policies have encouraged a renewed focus on the prospects for local-level policies in the UK and elsewhere. We adopted a case study approach to identify the major characteristics and drivers of differences in the patterns of local alcohol policies and services in two contrasting local authority (LA) areas in England.

METHODS: Data were collected via thirteen semi-structured interviews with key informants (including public health, licensing and trading standards) and documentary analysis, including harm reduction strategies and statements of licensing policy. A two-stage thematic analysis was used to categorize all relevant statements into seven over-arching themes, by which document sources were then also analysed.

RESULTS: Three of the seven over-arching themes (drink environment, treatment services and barriers and facilitators), provided for the most explanatory detail informing the contrasting policy responses of the two LAs: LA1 pursued a risk-informed strategy via a specialist police team working proactively with problem premises and screening systematically to identify riskier drinking. LA2 adopted a more upstream regulatory approach around restrictions on availability with less emphasis on co-ordinated screening and treatment measures.

CONCLUSION: New powers over alcohol policy for LAs in England can produce markedly different policies for reducing alcohol-related harm. These difference are rooted in economic, opportunistic, organisational and personnel factors particular to the LAs themselves and may lead to closely tailored solutions in some policy areas and poorer co-ordination and attention in others.}
}

@misc{ndc28054,
           month = {October},
           title = {Evidence review summary: drug demand reduction, treatment and harm reduction.},
          author = {Harry Sumnall and Geoff Bates and Lisa Jones},
         address = {Lisbon},
       publisher = {European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/28054/},
        abstract = {This short report presents a brief overview of recent evidence for the most effective approaches in the fields of drug use prevention, drug use treatment and harm reduction. It discusses the strengths and limitations of the evidence and some challenges for the implementation of the approaches, and it summarises the principles underpinning the successful knowledge transfer that supports the use of evidence in the development and delivery of policy and practice.

Section 1 describes the range of illicit drug-related research that is currently being undertaken in the European Union (EU) and defines evidence-based policy and practice. Key findings from critical health policy research are presented to illustrate the complexities and challenges of developing evidence-based policy and practice. Section 2 presents a series of evidence statements derived from two recent ?review of reviews? conducted by the authors on the effectiveness of interventions for prevention, treatment and harm reduction. This is accompanied by a short commentary on how this evidence might be interpreted and a discussion of the gaps between research findings and the implementation of effective approaches. Finally, Section 3 introduces knowledge transfer activities and describes research findings that have identified the core components of successful knowledge transfer activities.}
}

@misc{ndc28055,
           month = {October},
           title = {Recovery, reintegration, abstinence, harm reduction: the role of different goals within the drug treatment in the European context.},
          author = {annette Dale-Perera},
         address = {Lisbon},
       publisher = {European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/28055/}
}

@misc{ndc28030,
          volume = {3 October 2017},
           month = {October},
          author = {Rachael N Lipari},
           title = {Exposure to substance use prevention messages among adolescents. Short report.},
       publisher = {SAMHSA},
         journal = {The CBHSQ Report},
           pages = {11 p.},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/28030/},
        abstract = {This issue of The CBHSQ Report examines adolescents' exposure to substance use prevention messages using US data from the 2002 to 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). It also uses 2015 NSDUH data to examine exposure to prevention messages by key demographic characteristics. The 2015 estimates are based on a total sample size of 17,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17.}
}

@article{ndc27746,
          volume = {Issue 62, Summer 2017},
           month = {August},
          author = {Lucy Dillon},
           title = {Drug misuse prevention ? NICE guideline.},
       publisher = {Health Research Board},
         journal = {Drugnet Ireland},
           pages = {22},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27746/}
}

@misc{ndc27631,
          number = {21 July 2017},
           month = {July},
           title = {UK trial tests personality-based approach to preventing drinking.},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2017},
         journal = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27631/},
        abstract = {The Adventure Trial tested the impact of a personality-targeted intervention delivered by teachers on substance use and misuse among pupils in London. This followed the reported success of the Preventure trial, which found that personality-targeted interventions were effective in reducing motivations for drinking that involve coping with negative feelings, and reducing symptoms of problem drinking during a two-year period.

Key points From summary and commentary:
?	The Adventure Trial examined whether personality-relevant coping skills could prevent drinking problems among London high school pupils.
?	High-risk young people were allocated to receive an intervention matched to their specific vulnerability (?hopelessness?, ?anxiety-sensitivity?, ?impulsivity?, or ?sensation-seeking?).
?	Long-term benefits were observed, with reduced odds of high-risk pupils in the intervention group reporting drinking, ?binge? drinking, and problem drinking, compared to peers allocated to receive standard drug education}
}

@techreport{ndc27253,
          number = {HRB Drug and Alcohol Evidence Review 5},
           month = {July},
           title = {The effectiveness of interventions related to the use of illicit drugs: prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery.  A ?review of reviews?.},
          author = {Geoff Bates and Lisa Jones and Madeleine Cochrane and Marissa Pendlebury and Harry Sumnall},
         address = {Dublin},
       publisher = {Health Research Board},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27253/}
}

@misc{ndc23735,
           month = {July},
           title = {Alcohol matrix cell E5: Treatment systems - safeguarding the community.},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/23735/}
}

@misc{ndc27537,
           month = {July},
           title = {Principles of drug abuse treatment for criminal justice populations - a research-based guide.},
         address = {Bethesda, MD},
       publisher = {National Institute on Drug Abuse},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27537/}
}

@misc{ndc27595,
           month = {July},
           title = {Drug misuse and dependence. UK guidelines on clinical management.},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Department of Health},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27595/},
        abstract = {Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction 9

Chapter 2: Essential elements of treatment provision 15
2.1 Key points 15
2.2 Assessment, planning care and treatment 15
2.3 Delivery of treatment 27
2.4 Drug testing 28
2.5 General health assessment at presentation and in treatment 31
2.6 Effective communication with primary and secondary care services 35
2.7 Organisational factors for effective drug treatment 35
2.8 Intimate partner violence and domestic abuse 43
2.9 Planning and contracting or commissioning services 44

Chapter 3: Psychosocial components of treatment 47
3.1 Key points 47
3.2 Introduction 47
3.3 Core elements underpinning effective delivery 51
3.4 Making psychosocial interventions effective 52
3.5 Interventions focused on social network and family, friends and carers 56
3.6 Medication and psychosocial interventions 57
3.7 Delivering psychosocial interventions 58
3.8 Resources and further reading 81
3.9 References 81

Chapter 4: Pharmacological interventions 83
4.1 Key points 83
4.2 Prescribing 84
4.3 Choosing an appropriate opioid substitute 88
4.4 Induction onto methadone and buprenorphine substitution treatment 90
4.5 Supervised consumption 101
4.6 Assessing and responding to progress and failure to benefit 104
4.7 Opioid maintenance prescribing 110
4.8 Opioid detoxification 115
4.9 Naltrexone for relapse prevention 118
4.10 Pharmacological management of dependence on other drugs 119
4.11 Resources and further reading 124
4.12 References 125


Chapter 5: Criminal justice system 127
5.1 Key points 127
5.2 Introduction 128
5.3 Criminal justice systems in the community 130
5.4 Prisons and other secure environments 133
5.5 References 160

Chapter 6: Health considerations 163
6.1 Key points 163
6.2 Blood-borne viruses and other infections 163
6.3 Preventing drug-related deaths 174
6.4 Naloxone 178
6.5 Alcohol in drug treatment 183
6.6 Smoking and respiratory function 187
6.7 Oral health 190
6.8 References 194

Chapter 7: Specific treatment situations and populations 197
7.1 General key points 197
7.2 Pain management 197
7.3 Dependence on prescribed and over-the-counter opioids 205
7.4 Misuse of or dependence on gabapentinoids 208
7.5 Hospitalisation 209
7.6 Pregnancy and neonatal care 220
7.7 New psychoactive substances and club drugs 225
7.8 Image and performance enhancing drugs 229
7.9 Coexisting problems with mental health and substance use 231
7.10 Young people 240
7.11 Older people 247
7.12 References 252

Annexes 255
A1: Working group members and other contributors 257
A2: Governance 263
A3: Marketing authorisations 271
A4: Writing prescriptions 277
A5: Interactions 293
A6: Travelling abroad with controlled drugs 303
A7: Drugs and driving 305
A8: Glossary 311}
}

@misc{ndc23729,
           month = {May},
           title = {Alcohol matrix cell A5: Interventions - safeguarding the community.},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/23729/}
}

@misc{ndc27386,
          number = {5 May 2017},
           month = {May},
           title = {Family therapies best for substance using teenagers.},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2017},
         journal = {Drug and Alcohol Findings Bulletin},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27386/},
        abstract = {Multi-prong therapies centred on the family emerge as probably the most effective in this comprehensive and careful synthesis of the results of trials of non-residential programmes for substance using teenagers ? but do the outcomes warrant the extra costs?

Key points from summary and commentary
?	Studies included in the analysis were required to involve an identifiable non-residential treatment for substance use problems for patients aged between 12 and 20.
?	Generally the substance use outcomes of the various distinct treatment types represented in the studies did not significantly differ
?	The exception was family therapies, which returned the most convincing and consistent evidence of comparative effectiveness, but even here the evidence was too limited to support definitive conclusions}
}

@misc{ndc15311,
           month = {May},
           title = {EMCDDA Best practice portal.},
         address = {Lisbon},
       publisher = {European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/15311/},
        abstract = {The Best practice portal is a resource for professionals, policymakers and researchers in the areas of drug-related prevention, treatment, harm reduction and social reintegration. The portal concentrates on illicit drugs and polydrug use and has a clear European focus. It is continuously updated as information and research on interventions emerges.

You can find the latest evidence (what works and what doesn't work) - guidelines, standards and tools (instruments and questionnaires).

?Best practice is the best application of available evidence to current activities in the drugs field.
?	underlying evidence should be relevant to the problems and issues affecting those involved(professionals, policymakers, drug users, their families);
?	methods should be transparent, reliable and transferable and all appropriate evidence should be considered in the classification process;
?	experience in implementation, adaptation and training should be systematically collected and made available;
?	contextual factors should be studied by modelling different prevalence levels so as to assess the impact of an intervention on the population; and
?	evidence of effectiveness and feasibility of implementation should both be considered for the broader decision-making process.'}
}

@misc{ndc27143,
          volume = {13},
          number = {6},
           month = {April},
          author = {Geir Smedslund and Sabine Wollscheid and Lin Fang and Wendy Nilsen and Asbj{\o}rn Steiro and Lillebeth Larun},
         address = {London},
           title = {Effect of early, brief computerized interventions on risky alcohol and cannabis use among young people.},
       publisher = {The Campbell Collaboration},
            year = {2017},
         journal = {Campbell Systematic Reviews},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27143/},
        abstract = {Background: 
Young people?s risky use of alcohol or recreational drugs, such as cannabis, remains a significant public health issue. Many countries have made substantial efforts to minimize the long-term consequences of alcohol and/or cannabis use at multiple levels, ranging from government policy initiatives to primary health care services. In this review, we focused on the effects of brief interventions, provided by electronic devices (computerized brief interventions). A brief intervention is defined as any preventive or therapeutic activity delivered by a health worker, psychologist, social worker, or volunteer worker, and given within a maximum of four structured therapy sessions each lasting between five and ten minutes with a maximum total time of one hour. Brief interventions may work by making the clients think differently about their alcohol/cannabis use, and by providing them with skills to change their behavior if they are motivated to change. A computerized brief intervention, in contrast, is not directly delivered by a human being, but may be delivered through online and offline electronic devices. Such interventions can reach large audiences at a low cost and can simultaneously simulate an ?interpersonal therapeutic component? by targeting recipients? feedback.

Objectives:
To assess the effectiveness of early, computerized brief interventions on alcohol and cannabis use by young people aged 15 to 25 years who are high or risky consumers of either one or both of these substances by synthesizing data from randomized controlled trials.


Search methods:
We searched 11 electronic databases including MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cinahl and The Cochrane Library in April 2016 for published, unpublished and ongoing studies using adapted subject headings and a comprehensive list of free-text terms. Additionally, we searched the reference lists of the included studies. We also have set up an EBSCO host alert notification (EPAlerts@EPNET.COM ) that continuously surveys the Cochrane Library (including CENTRAL), Medline and Embase. We receive updated searches via email. This search is up to date as of May 2016.

Selection criteria:
We included all randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials of any computerized brief intervention used as a stand-alone treatment aimed at reducing alcohol and/or cannabis consumption. Eligible comparators included no intervention, waiting list control or an alternative brief intervention (computerized or non-computerized). Participants were young people between 15 and 25 years of age who were defined as risky consumers of alcohol or cannabis, or both.

Data collection and analysis:
Two researchers independently screened titles and abstracts against the inclusion criteria. Two researchers independently assessed the full texts of all included articles. We used standard methodological procedures expected by the Campbell Collaboration.

Results:
We included 60 studies that had randomized 33,316 participants in this review. Study characteristics: The studies were mostly from the United States and targeted high and risky alcohol use among university students. Bias/quality assessment: Some of the studies lacked clear descriptions of how the randomization sequence was generated and concealed. Many of the studies did not blind the participants. Some of the studies suffered from high loss to follow-up, and few studies had a pre-registered protocol. Findings: For alcohol, we found moderate quality evidence that multi-dose assessment and feedback was more effective than a single-dose assessment. We found low quality evidence that assessment and feedback might be more effective than no intervention. Assessment and feedback might also be more effective than assessment alone (low quality evidence). Short-term effects ({\ensuremath{<}} 6 months) were mostly larger than long-term (?6 months) effects. For cannabis, we found that assessment and feedback might slightly reduce short-term consumption compared to no intervention. Adding feedback to assessment may have little or no effect on short-term cannabis consumption. Moreover, there may be little or no difference between assessment plus feedback and education on short-term and long-term cannabis consumption. Adverse effects: We did not find evidence of any adverse effects of the interventions.
Implications for policy, practice and research:

Computerized brief interventions are easy to administer, and the evidence from this review indicates that such brief interventions might reduce drinking for several months after the intervention. Additionally, there is no evidence for adverse effects. This means that brief, computerized interventions could be feasible ways of dealing with risky alcohol use among young people. The evidence on cannabis consumption is scarcer, suggesting the need for more research.}
}

@article{ndc27212,
          volume = {Issue 61, Spring 2017},
           month = {April},
          author = {Lucy Dillon},
           title = {EUSPR conference: sustainable prevention in a changing world.},
       publisher = {Health Research Board},
         journal = {Drugnet Ireland},
           pages = {21},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27212/}
}

@article{ndc27211,
          volume = {Issue 61, Spring 2017},
           month = {April},
          author = {Lucy Dillon},
           title = {?What works? in drug education and prevention? A review.},
       publisher = {Health Research Board},
         journal = {Drugnet Ireland},
           pages = {17--18},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27211/}
}

@misc{ndc27093,
          volume = {14},
          number = {4},
           month = {March},
          author = {Gail Gilchrist and Davina Swan and April Shaw and Ada Keding and Sarah Towers and Noel Craine and Alison Munro and Elizabeth Hughes and Steve Parrott and John Strang and Avril Taylor and Judith Watson},
           title = {The acceptability and feasibility of a brief psychosocial intervention to reduce blood-borne virus risk behaviours among people who inject drugs: a randomised control feasibility trial of a psychosocial intervention (the PROTECT study) versus treatment as usual.},
       publisher = {BioMed Central},
         journal = {Harm Reduction Journal},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27093/},
        abstract = {Background: While opiate substitution therapy and injecting equipment provision (IEP) have reduced blood-borne viruses (BBV) among people who inject drugs (PWID), some PWID continue to share injecting equipment and acquire BBV. Psychosocial interventions that address risk behaviours could reduce BBV transmission among PWID.

Methods: A pragmatic, two-armed randomised controlled, open feasibility study of PWID attending drug treatment or IEP in four UK regions. Ninety-nine PWID were randomly allocated to receive a three-session manualised psychosocial group intervention and BBV transmission information booklet plus treatment as usual (TAU) (n = 52) or information booklet plus TAU (n = 47). The intervention was developed from evidence-based literature, qualitative interviews with PWID, key stakeholder consultations, and expert opinion. Recruitment rates, retention in treatment, follow-up completion rates and health economic data completion measured feasibility.

Results: Fifty-six percent (99/176) of eligible PWID were recruited. More participants attended at least one intervention session in London (10/16; 63\%) and North Wales (7/13; 54\%) than in Glasgow (3/12; 25\%) and York (0/11). Participants who attended no sessions (n = 32) compared to those attending at least one (n = 20) session were more likely to be homeless (56 vs 25\%, p = 0.044), injected drugs for a greater number of days (median 25 vs 6.5, p = 0.019) and used a greater number of needles from an IEP in the last month (median 31 vs 20, p = 0.056). No adverse events were reported. 45.5\% (45/99) were followed up 1 month post-intervention. Feedback forms confirmed that the intervention was acceptable to both intervention facilitators and participants who attended it. Follow-up attendance was associated with fewer days of injecting in the last month (median 14 vs 27, p = 0.030) and fewer injections of cocaine (13 vs 30\%, p = 0.063). Analysis of the questionnaires identified several service use questionnaire categories that could be excluded from the assessment battery in a full-randomised controlled trial.

Conclusions: Findings should be interpreted with caution due to small sample sizes. A future definitive RCT of the psychosocial intervention is not feasible. The complex needs of some PWID may have limited their engagement in the intervention. More flexible delivery methods may have greater reach.}
}

@misc{ndc26931,
           month = {March},
           title = {Communities That Care (CTC): a comprehensive prevention approach for communities.},
         address = {Luxembourg},
       publisher = {Publications Office of the European Union},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/26931/},
        abstract = {Community coalitions are a strategy to coordinate activities and resources to prevent adolescent substance use and delinquent behaviour. They can help mobilise communities in prevention and health promotion initiatives.

The Communities That Care (CTC) approach sets out to reduce adolescent health and behaviour problems. It does so by identifying strong risk factors and weak protective factors experienced by this group and then selecting tested and effective prevention and early intervention programmes to address them.

In this EMCDDA Paper we make an analysis of five studies evaluating the effectiveness of CTC, mainly from outside the EU. The results of our analysis lead us to conclude that further investigation of this prevention model within the European context appears to be merited.}
}

@misc{ndc27553,
           month = {March},
           title = {School-based alcohol and drug education and prevention ? what works?},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Mentor ADEPSIS},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27553/},
        abstract = {This briefing paper intends to equip and guide those working in educational settings when considering which alcohol and drug education and prevention programme they should run. It outlines some approaches that evidence shows work and cautions on some that don?t. The briefing paper aims to enable educators to make a more informed decision when selecting an approach that will ensure maximum impact and ensure young people receive the most appropriate education and prevention programme that will enable them to build their resilience to risks.}
}

@misc{ndc27522,
          volume = {21},
          number = {15},
           month = {March},
          author = {Judith Watson and Paul Toner and Ed Day and Donna Back and Louca-Mai Brady and Caroline Fairhurst and Charlotte Renwick and Lorna Templeton and Shabana Akhtar and Charlie Lloyd and Jinshuo Li and Kim Cocks and Sangeeta Ambegaokar and Steve Parrott and Paul McArdle and Eilish Gilvarry and Alex Copello},
         address = {Southampton},
           title = {Youth social behaviour and network therapy (Y-SBNT): adaptation of a family and social network intervention for young people who misuse alcohol and drugs - a randomised controlled feasibility trial.},
       publisher = {National Institute for Health Research},
            year = {2017},
         journal = {Health Technology Assessment},
           pages = {1--260},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27522/},
        abstract = {BACKGROUND: Family interventions appear to be effective at treating young people's substance misuse. However, implementation of family approaches in UK services is low. This study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of recruiting young people to an intervention based on an adaptation of adult social behaviour and network therapy. It also sought to involve young people with experience of using substance misuse services in the research process.

OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate the feasibility of recruiting young people to family and social network therapy and to explore ways in which young people with experience of using substance misuse services could be involved in a study of this nature.

DESIGN: A pragmatic, two-armed, randomised controlled open feasibility trial.
SETTING: Two UK-based treatment services for young people with substance use problems, with recruitment taking place from May to November 2014.

PARTICIPANTS: Young people aged 12-18 years, newly referred and accepted for structured interventions for drug and/or alcohol problems.

INTERVENTIONS: A remote, web-based computer randomisation system allocated young people to adapted youth social behaviour and network therapy (Y-SBNT) or treatment as usual (TAU). Y-SBNT participants were intended to receive up to six 50-minute sessions over a maximum of 12 weeks. TAU participants continued to receive usual care delivered by their service.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Feasibility was measured by recruitment rates, retention in treatment and follow-up completion rates. The main clinical outcome was the proportion of days on which the main problem substance was used in the preceding 90-day period as captured by the Timeline Follow-Back interview at 3 and 12 months.

RESULTS: In total, 53 young people were randomised (Y-SBNT, n = 26; TAU, n = 27) against a target of 60 (88.3\%). Forty-two young people attended at least one treatment session [Y-SBNT 22/26 (84.6\%); TAU 20/27 (74.1\%)]; follow-up rates were 77.4\% at month 3 and 73.6\% at month 12. Data for nine young people were missing at both months 3 and 12, so the main clinical outcome analysis was based on 24 young people (92.3\%) in the Y-SBNT group and 20 young people (74.1\%) in the TAU group. At month 12, the average proportion of days that the main problem substance was used in the preceding 90 days was higher in the Y-SBNT group than in the TAU group (0.54 vs. 0.41; adjusted mean difference 0.13, 95\% confidence interval -0.12 to 0.39; p = 0.30). No adverse events were reported. Seventeen young people with experience of substance misuse services were actively involved throughout the study. They informed key elements of the intervention and research process, ensuring that the intervention was acceptable and relevant to our target groups; contributing to the design of key trial documents, ideas for a new model of public involvement and this report. Two parents were also involved.

CONCLUSIONS: The adapted intervention could be delivered in young people's services, and qualitative interviews found that Y-SBNT was acceptable to young people, family members and staff. Engagement of family and network members proved difficult within the intervention and research aspects. The study proved the feasibility of this work in routine services but outcome measurement based on narrow substance use variables may be limited and may fail to capture other important changes in wider areas of functioning for young people. Validation of the EuroQol-5 Dimensions for young people aged 12-18 years should be considered and flexible models for involvement of young people in research are required to achieve inclusive representation throughout all aspects of the research process. Although recommendation of a full trial of the Y-SBNT intervention compared with TAU is not supported, this study can inform future intervention development and UK research within routine addiction services.}
}

@misc{ndc26696,
           month = {January},
           title = {Evidence review of the outcomes that can be expected of drug misuse treatment in England.},
          author = {Peter Burkinshaw and Jonathan Knight and Paul Anders and Brian Eastwood and Virginia Musto and Martin J White and John Marsden},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Public Health England},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/26696/}
}

@misc{ndc26930,
          number = {January?March 2017},
           title = {It?s magic: prevent substance use problems without mentioning drugs.},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2017},
         journal = {Drug and Alcohol Findings Hot Topic},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/26930/}
}

@misc{ndc27033,
           title = {Education sector responses to the use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs.},
         address = {Paris},
       publisher = {UNESCO},
            year = {2017},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27033/},
        abstract = {This booklet provides the context and rationale for improved education sector responses to the use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs among children and young people, with a focus on primary and secondary education sectors. It presents evidence-based and promising policies and practice, including practical examples from different regions that have been shown to be effective by scientific research. It also suggests issues for the education sector to consider in sustaining and scaling up effective approaches and programmes to tackle substance use.}
}

@misc{ndc26543,
          number = {13 December 2016},
           month = {December},
           title = {Do we inadvertently make it hard to start and stay with alcohol treatment?},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2016},
         journal = {Drug and Alcohol Findings Bulletin},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/26543/},
        abstract = {Patient interviews provide insight into low levels of engagement and retention in alcohol treatment services, hindering the effective provision of treatment for dependent drinkers. Findings suggest that treatment pathways should better reflect the capacity and capabilities of people with alcohol dependence.

Key points From summary and commentary
?	Low levels of engagement and retention are hindering the effective provision of treatment for dependent drinkers in the England.
?	Interviews with 20 patients in community alcohol treatment services in London reveal that treatment pathways can be confusing and unpredictable, requiring patients to draw on significant levels of motivation and self-efficacy.
?	Treatment pathways should better reflect the capacity and capabilities of patients, themselves affected by alcohol dependence}
}

@misc{ndc26557,
           month = {December},
           title = {?What works? in drug education and prevention?},
          author = {Fran Warren},
         address = {Edinburgh},
       publisher = {Scottish Government},
            year = {2016},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/26557/},
        abstract = {This literature review provides background on what is meant by prevention and education and discusses the evidence base. The evidence of effectiveness for different approaches used in schools and other components necessary for effective drug prevention and education in schools is presented. The effectiveness of drug education and prevention beyond the school setting is then considered, alongside the evidence to support peer led interventions and specific programmes for vulnerable young people. Specific manualised and licensed prevention programmes are considered and some of the issues and challenges involved in implementing these programmes in different contexts is discussed. 

The evidence for ineffective approaches to drug prevention is highlighted and lastly recommendations from the literature for policy makers are set out, alongside some thoughts on the implications of this review for drug education and prevention in Scotland, in particular the need to map prevention activity for young people being delivered in Scotland.}
}

@misc{ndc26541,
          number = {8 November 2016},
           month = {November},
           title = {Maintenance prescribing saves lives of English heroin addicts.},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2016},
         journal = {Drug and Alcohol Findings Bulletin},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/26541/},
        abstract = {Implication of this English study is that to save the lives of people dependent on heroin or similar drugs, they should be engaged and retained in substitute prescribing programmes like methadone maintenance until there is little risk of their relapsing after leaving. Shortly after leaving residential/inpatient settings was the highest risk period.

Key points From summary and commentary
?	In England the study investigated the relationship between ?overdose? deaths and being in or out of different kinds of treatments for opioid dependence.
?	The least risky period was while in methadone maintenance and allied treatments, the most risky, the four weeks after leaving residential/inpatient care.
?	The death rate jumped after leaving residential/inpatient or maintenance treatments, but not after leaving non-residential psychological support programmes.
?	Whether a patient had been recorded as having successfully completed their treatment made little difference to their risk of overdose death shortly after leaving}
}

@misc{ndc26168,
          volume = {59},
          number = {4 supp},
           month = {October},
          author = {Jai K Das and Rehana Salam and Ahmed Arshad and Yaron Finkelstein and Zulfiqar A Bhutta},
           title = {Interventions for adolescent substance abuse: an overview of systematic reviews.},
       publisher = {Elsevier},
         journal = {Journal of Adolescent Health},
            year = {2016},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/26168/},
        abstract = {Many unhealthy behaviors often begin during adolescence and represent major public health challenges. Substance abuse has a major impact on individuals, families, and communities, as its effects are cumulative, contributing to costly social, physical, and mental health problems. We conducted an overview of systematic reviews to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to prevent substance abuse among adolescents. We report findings from a total of 46 systematic reviews focusing on interventions for smoking/tobacco use, alcohol use, drug use, and combined substance abuse. 

Our overview findings suggest that among smoking/tobacco interventions, school-based prevention programs and family-based intensive interventions typically addressing family functioning are effective in reducing smoking. Mass media campaigns are also effective given that these were of reasonable intensity over extensive periods of time. Among interventions for alcohol use, school-based alcohol prevention interventions have been associated with reduced frequency of drinking, while family-based interventions have a small but persistent effect on alcohol misuse among adolescents. For drug abuse, school-based interventions based on a combination of social competence and social influence approaches have shown protective effects against drugs and cannabis use. Among the interventions targeting combined substance abuse, school-based primary prevention programs are effective. Evidence from Internet-based interventions, policy initiatives, and incentives appears to be mixed and needs further research. 

Future research should focus on evaluating the effectiveness of specific interventions components with standardized intervention and outcome measures. Various delivery platforms, including digital platforms and policy initiative, have the potential to improve substance abuse outcomes among adolescents; however, these require further research.}
}

@misc{ndc26057,
           month = {September},
           title = {Alcohol Matrix cell B2: Practitioners; generic and cross-cutting issues.},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2016},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/26057/}
}

@article{ndc25988,
          volume = {Issue 58, Summer 2016},
           month = {August},
          author = {Brian Galvin},
           title = {Shared measurement of personal outcomes in recovery.},
       publisher = {Health Research Board},
         journal = {Drugnet Ireland},
           pages = {26--27},
            year = {2016},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/25988/}
}

@misc{ndc25884,
          number = {22 July 2016},
           month = {July},
           title = {Pharmacy brief intervention has no effect on problem drinking.},
            year = {2016},
         journal = {Drug and Alcohol Findings Bulletin},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/25884/},
        abstract = {Despite a clear rationale for embedding brief interventions in community pharmacies, this UK trial found no evidence that they would reduce hazardous or harmful drinking.

Key points from summary and commentary:
?	Pharmacies in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham were invited to take part in a trial of brief alcohol interventions, aimed at reducing hazardous or harmful drinking.
?	There was no significant change in levels of drinking between the brief intervention and non-intervention group, or (for either group) between the start of the study and the follow-up at three months.
?	The pharmacy-based brief interventions appeared to have no effect on hazardous or harmful drinking}
}

@misc{ndc25812,
          number = {7},
           month = {July},
          author = {David Foxcroft and Lindsey Coombes and Sarah Wood and Debby Allen and Nerissa ML Almeida Santimano and Maria Teresa Moreira},
         address = {London},
           title = {Motivational interviewing for the prevention of alcohol misuse in young adults.},
       publisher = {John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd},
         journal = {Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews},
            year = {2016},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/25812/}
}

@misc{ndc25888,
          number = {8 June 2016},
           month = {June},
           title = {?Inconclusive? verdict on brief alcohol advice for young emergency patients.},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2016},
         journal = {Drug and Alcohol Findings Bulletin},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/25888/},
        abstract = {?Inconclusive? was the verdict of a review which aimed to assess the effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions among patients aged 11 to 21 attending for emergency care in the USA. Most promising targets seem to have been the more heavy or irresponsibly drinking among patients who were young adults rather than adolescents.

Key points from summary and commentary
?	The featured review aimed to assess the effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions among patients aged 11 to 21 attending for emergency care in the USA.
?	Overall the results of the seven studies were inconclusive in respect of whether such interventions have reduced drinking or related consequences.
?	Most promising targets seem to have been the more heavy or irresponsibly drinking among patients who were young adults rather than adolescents.}
}

@misc{ndc25899,
          number = {22 March 2016},
           month = {March},
           title = {Little impact from brief alcohol advice in sexual health clinics.},
            year = {2016},
         journal = {Drug and Alcohol Findings Bulletin},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/25899/},
        abstract = {A major study conducted in London did not find clinically important reductions in drinking among excessive drinkers offered a brief intervention while attending sexual health clinics, nor did brief intervention seem a cost-effective use of health service resources.

Key points from summary and commentary
?	Conducted in London, the featured study examined the (cost-)effectiveness of a brief intervention for people attending sexual health clinics identified by a screening test as drinking excessively.
?	The trial did not find clinically important reductions in drinking, nor did brief intervention seem a cost-effective use of health service resources.
?	This major trial bolsters the impression that real-world brief interventions are not effective enough to justify widespread implementation, but their potential may yet be realised, and/or targeting screening to new patients and people who seem at risk may be more cost-effective}
}

@misc{ndc25164,
           month = {January},
           title = {Using research evidence: a practice guide.},
          author = {Jonathan Breckon and Isobel Roberts},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Nesta and Alliance for Useful Evidence},
            year = {2016},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/25164/},
        abstract = {Research evidence can help you understand what works, where, why and for whom. It can also tell you what doesn?t work, and you can avoid repeating the failures of others by learning from evaluations of unsuccessful programmes. Evidence also challenges what we might think is common sense. Whether it?s in a police station, a school classroom or the boardroom of a charity, evidence can help you make better decisions. It is helpful not only in frontline service-delivery, but also in creating smarter organisations

Contents:
Introduction 4
Section A: What is evidence-informed decision-making, and why focus on research? 6
Section B: When can evidence help you? 13
Section C: ?Horses for courses? ? What evidence should you choose? 18
?	Part 1: Different types of research methods, designs and approaches 20
?	Part 2: How do you judge the quality of research? 29
Section D: Where should you look for evidence? 38
Section E: How should you communicate your findings? 46
Summary 49

Appendix 1: Rationales for evidence and types of evidence required for policymakers  50
Appendix 2: Experimental designs for evaluating complex interventions 51
Appendix 3: Guidance on evidence quality, designs and methods 52}
}

@misc{ndc25007,
          volume = {66},
          number = {642},
           month = {January},
          author = {Jamie Brown and Robert West and Colin Angus and Emma Beard and Alan Brennan and Colin Drummond and Matthew Hickman and John Holmes and Eileen Kaner and Susan Michie},
         address = {London},
           title = {Comparison of brief interventions in primary care on smoking and excessive alcohol consumption: a population survey in England.},
       publisher = {Royal College of General Practitioners},
            year = {2016},
         journal = {The British Journal of General Practice},
           pages = {e1--9},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/25007/},
        abstract = {BACKGROUND: Brief interventions have a modest but meaningful effect on promoting smoking cessation and reducing excessive alcohol consumption. Guidelines recommend offering such advice opportunistically and regularly but incentives vary between the two behaviours.

AIM: To use representative data from the perspective of patients to compare the prevalence and characteristics of people who smoke or drink excessively and who receive a brief intervention.

DESIGN AND SETTING: Data was from a representative sample of 15 252 adults from household surveys in England.

METHOD: Recall of brief interventions on smoking and alcohol use, sociodemographic information, and smoking and alcohol consumption patterns were assessed among smokers and those who drink excessively (AUDIT score of ?8), who visited their GP surgery in the previous year.

RESULTS: Of 1775 smokers, 50.4\% recalled receiving brief advice on smoking in the previous year. Smokers receiving advice compared with those who did not were more likely to be older, female, have a disability, have made more quit attempts in the previous year (compared with no attempts: one attempt), and have greater nicotine dependence but were less likely to have no post-16 qualifications. Of 1110 people drinking excessively, 6.5\% recalled receiving advice in their GP surgery on their alcohol consumption in the previous year. Those receiving advice compared with those who did not had higher AUDIT scores and were less likely to be female.

CONCLUSION: Whereas approximately half of smokers in England visiting their GP in the past year report having received advice on cessation, {\ensuremath{<}}10\% of those who drink excessively report having received advice on their alcohol consumption.}
}

@misc{ndc27523,
          volume = {4},
          number = {5},
          author = {Chris Bonell and Kelly Dickson and Kate Hinds and GJ Melendez-Torres and Claire Stansfield and Adam Fletcher and James Thomas and Katrina Lester and Elizabeth Oliver and Simon M Murphy and Rona Campbell},
         address = {Southampton},
           title = {The effects of Positive Youth Development interventions on substance use, violence and inequalities: systematic review of theories of change, processes and outcomes.},
       publisher = {National Institute for Health Research},
         journal = {Public Health Research},
            year = {2016},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27523/},
        abstract = {BACKGROUND: Positive Youth Development (PYD) delivered outside school aims to enable young people to develop positive assets such as relationships and confidence, rather than to merely address risk. Existing reviews of PYD effects on substance use or violence are old and unsystematic.

OBJECTIVES: To systematically review evidence to answer the following questions: what theories of change inform PYD interventions addressing substance use and violence? What characteristics of participants and contexts are identified as barriers to and facilitators of implementation and receipt in process evaluations of PYD? What is the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of PYD in reducing substance use and violence? What characteristics of participants and contexts appear to moderate, or are necessary and sufficient for, PYD effectiveness?

DATA SOURCES: A total of 21 bibliographic databases; 35 websites and contacting authors.
REVIEW METHODS: We included reports published in English since 1985 and reporting on theories of change, as well as process, outcome and economic evaluations of PYD targeting 11- to 18-year-olds and addressing substance use or violence. References were screened on title/abstract and, where appropriate, on full report. Data extraction and quality assessment used Critical Appraisal Skills Programme, Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre and Cochrane tools. Theories of change and process evaluations were qualitatively metasynthesised. Outcome evaluations were synthesised narratively and meta-analytically.

RESULTS: 32,394 unique references were identified and 48 were included. A total of 16 reports described theories, 13 (10 studies) evaluated processes and 25 (10 studies) evaluated outcomes.

THEORIES OF CHANGE: PYD interventions aim to offer opportunities for young people to develop positive ?assets? such as skills and confidence. These are theorised to promote and be promoted by young people?s ?intentional self-regulation?, which involves reflecting on behaviour; determining goals; using existing resources to pursue these; and redirecting effort when thwarted. This enables ?developmental regulation?, namely individuals capitalising on other opportunities to promote personal development. Positive assets thus accrued reduce health risks by reducing the impact on individuals of environmental risk or by ameliorating the impact of such risks. The literature offers limited insights beyond these general ideas.

PROCESS EVALUATIONS: Community engagement ensured that programmes were accessible and appealing. Staff capacity and continuity were crucial factors but often challenging when programmes could not offer full-time jobs. Tensions arose between a desire to empower participants to choose activities and a requirement for them to undertake a breadth of activities.

OUTCOME EVALUATIONS: Meta-analyses of all combined outcomes and of short-term alcohol use, illicit drug use and smoking found no significant effects. There were small, statistically significant, short-term effects for an omnibus measure of substance use and for violence. We could not undertake metaregression to assess sociodemographic moderators but narrative synthesis suggested no clear pattern of effects by sex. We found no economic evaluations.

LIMITATIONS: Insufficient studies precluded qualitative comparative analyses.

CONCLUSIONS: How PYD might promote health is currently undertheorised. Implementation can be challenging. We found little evidence that current PYD interventions delivered outside school reduce substance use or violence. However, these may not constitute a test of the effectiveness of the PYD model, as some included interventions that, although meeting our inclusion criteria, were not exemplars of PYD.}
}

@article{ndc25049,
          volume = {27},
          number = {4},
           month = {December},
          author = {Joan R Villalb{\'i} and Montserrat Bartroli and Marina Bosque-Prous and Anna M Guitart and Enric Serra-Batiste and Conrad Casas and M Teresa Brugal},
           title = {Enforcing regulations on alcohol sales and use as universal environmental prevention.},
         journal = {Adicciones},
           pages = {288--293},
            year = {2015},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/25049/},
        abstract = {The informal social control over alcohol consumption that was traditional in Southern European countries has weakened. At the same time there is an increase in binge drinking and drunkenness among young people in Spain. To mitigate this problem, regulations on alcohol and driving and restrictions on the sale and consumption of alcohol have been adopted. This paper documents the current regulations in the city of Barcelona and describes efforts to enforce them and their outcomes. Data from the municipal information systems on infringements reported for the period 2008-13 are provided. There is an increasing pressure of municipal services to enforce the rules in two areas: a) alcohol sales at night (retailers); and b) consumption in the public space (citizens). 

An increase in the controls of drink-driving has also taken place, and the proportion above legal limits has decreased. The largest relative increase occurred in the control of retailers. In Barcelona interventions are made to limit the supply and consumption of alcohol at low cost and during the night, and of driving under the influence of alcohol. There have been no documented episodes of massive drinking in public spaces (known as 'botell{\'o}n') in the city. These actions, which complement other preventive efforts based on health education, can change the social perceptions of alcohol by minors in a direction less favorable to consumption, promoting environmental prevention.}
}

@misc{ndc27526,
          volume = {3},
          number = {15},
           month = {November},
          author = {Jeremy Segrott and Heather Rothwell and Gillian Hewitt and Rebecca Playle and Chao Huang and Simon M Murphy and Laurence Moore and Matthew Hickman and Hayley Reed},
         address = {Southampton},
           title = {Preventing alcohol misuse in young people: an exploratory cluster randomised controlled trial of the Kids, Adults Together (KAT) programme.},
       publisher = {National Institute for Health Research},
            year = {2015},
         journal = {Public Health Research},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27526/},
        abstract = {The randomised exploratory trial of the Kids, Adults Together (KAT) programme found that it would not be appropriate to proceed to a full effectiveness trial of KAT. Although the intervention was acceptable to schools and pupils, and had good parent/carer participation levels, there were uncertainties regarding the potential effects of the programme, as well as programme funding, availability of suitable outcome measures and feasibility of long-term follow-up.}
}

@misc{ndc24540,
           month = {September},
           title = {Prevention of addictive behaviours.},
          author = {Anneke Buhler and Johannes Thrul},
         address = {Luxembourg},
       publisher = {Publications Office of the European Union},
            year = {2015},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/24540/},
        abstract = {This publication is an update of Prevention of substance abuse, published in 2007. Like the previous analysis, it is a translation of a German study that presents a state-of-the-art review of prevention science. Although originally targeted at the German audience, the evidence base addressed is global in its scope. The review is broad in its considerations, covering not only the main topic of drug abuse but also alcohol and tobacco, as well as behavioural addictions, such as gambling.

Table of contents:
?	Foreword to the English version
?	Summary
?	Chapter 1: Introduction
?	Chapter 2: Methodology
?	Chapter 3: Results
?	Chapter 4: Discussion
?	References / Glossary}
}

@misc{ndc19481,
           month = {August},
           title = {International standards on drug use prevention.},
         address = {Vienna},
       publisher = {United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime},
            year = {2015},
            note = {Minor editorial amendments have been made to this publication, however the content remains the same as the earlier version, first published in 2013.},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/19481/},
        abstract = {Prevention strategies based on scientific evidence working with families, schools, and communities can ensure that children and youth, especially the most marginalized and poor, grow and stay healthy and safe into adulthood and old age. For every dollar spent on prevention, at least ten can be saved in future health, social and crime costs.

These global International Standards summarize the currently available scientific evidence, describing interventions and policies that have been found to result in positive prevention outcomes and their characteristics. Concurrently, the global International Standards identify the major components and features of an effective national drug prevention system. It is our hope that the International Standards will assist policy makers worldwide to develop programmes, policies and systems that are a truly effective investment in the future of children, youth, families and communities. This work builds on and recognizes the work of many other organizations (e.g. EMCDDA, CCSA, CICAD, Mentor, NIDA, WHO) which have previously developed standards and guidelines on various aspects of drug prevention.

[For appendices, click on website link above]}
}

@article{ndc24221,
          volume = {Issue 54, Summer 2015},
           month = {July},
          author = {Brigid Pike},
           title = {Evaluating a substance use rehabilitation programme.},
       publisher = {Health Research Board},
         journal = {Drugnet Ireland},
           pages = {14--15},
            year = {2015},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/24221/}
}

@misc{ndc24206,
           month = {July},
           title = {The international evidence on the prevention of drug and alcohol use. Summary and examples of implementation in England.},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Public Health England},
            year = {2015},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/24206/},
        abstract = {The United Nations Office of Drug Control (UNODC) published ?International Standards on Drug Use Prevention? in 2013.  The standards were developed through a systematic assessment of the international evidence on prevention and they provide a summary of the available scientific evidence.

The briefing provides a summary of the UNODC prevention standards and gives corresponding examples of relevant UK guidelines, programmes and interventions currently available in England. Its aim is to help people who commission, develop and implement prevention strategies and interventions to translate the standards into the English operating landscape. It also aims to support local authority commissioners to develop their prevention strategies and implement them in line with evidence.}
}

@misc{ndc23617,
           month = {March},
           title = {Interventions for reducing alcohol supply, alcohol demand and alcohol-related harm.},
          author = {Peter Miller and Ashlee Curtis and Tanya Chikritzhs and John Toumbourou},
         address = {Canberra},
       publisher = {National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund},
            year = {2015},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/23617/},
        abstract = {This project synthesises existing evidence and knowledge to improve our understanding of good practice in minimising the range of harms associated with alcohol misuse, especially supply and demand reduction strategies. It builds on the literature by using a Delphi study to answer many of the existing questions for which no research literature yet exists. All interventions that aim to reduce the supply of alcohol discussed in this report have received substantial evidence for their effectiveness. Specifically, reducing alcohol outlet opening hours, increasing minimum legal purchase age, reducing alcohol outlet density and controlling alcohol sales times have each undergone a vast number of evaluations and have been found to be effective in reducing the supply of alcohol and reducing the harms associated with its consumption.

The most promising supply-reduction interventions identified were reducing trading hours for packaged liquor and reductions in the types and size of liquor that can be sold, the public listing of 'violent venues\&rsquo' and serving only mid-strength beverages after midnight in late night venues.  Demand reduction strategies appear to be effective; however, there is a lack of research or evaluations in the area. Increasing alcohol excise and taxation has been found to be very cost-effective, as well as being effective in reducing the consumption of alcohol and often results in overall social benefit. However, research for other demand reduction strategies, such as family-based alcohol misuse prevention and developmental prevention interventions is still in its infancy. Although such interventions have received some support for their effectiveness, further research needs to be undertaken.

The most effective harm reduction interventions were the Safer Bars program, targeted policing interventions (including 'consequence policing') and the introduction of plastic glassware. The most promising harm-reduction interventions identified were alcohol management plans in the Northern Territory, the introduction of mandatory security plans for venues, RSA marshals and mandatory high-visibility clothing. The study has identified a large number of interventions for the reduction of alcohol-related harm, but the majority of these have minimal evidence bases. A further concern is that the bulk of interventions have been developed to reduce alcohol-related harm and as a result, there exists few supply and demand reduction strategies. While the most effective solutions have been found to act at the societal level, there is a clear demand for more interventions that focus at community, social, family, or individual levels, even if they are not going to have the same level of impact.}
}

@article{ndc23309,
          volume = {Issue 52, Winter 2014},
           month = {January},
          author = {Brian Galvin},
           title = {HRB publishes drug and alcohol evidence reviews.},
       publisher = {Health Research Board},
         journal = {Drugnet Ireland},
           pages = {14--15},
            year = {2015},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/23309/}
}

@misc{ndc23203,
          number = {12},
           month = {December},
          author = {Fabrizio Faggiano and Silvia Minozzi and Elisabetta Versino and Daria Buscemi},
         address = {London},
           title = {Universal school-based prevention for illicit drug use.},
       publisher = {John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd},
         journal = {Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews},
            year = {2014},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/23203/}
}

@misc{ndc22535,
          volume = {9},
          number = {8},
           month = {August},
          author = {Norah E Palmateer and Avril Taylor and David J Goldberg and Alison Munro and Celia Aitken and Samantha J Shepherd and Georgina McAllister and Rory Gunson and Sharon J Hutchinson},
           title = {Rapid decline in HCV incidence among people who inject drugs associated with national scale-up in coverage of a combination of harm reduction interventions.},
       publisher = {Public Library of Science},
            year = {2014},
         journal = {PLoS ONE},
           pages = {e104515},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/22535/},
        abstract = {BACKGROUND: Government policy has precipitated recent changes in the provision of harm reduction interventions - injecting equipment provision (IEP) and opiate substitution therapy (OST) - for people who inject drugs (PWID) in Scotland. We sought to examine the potential impact of these changes on hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission among PWID.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: We used a framework to triangulate different types of evidence: 'group-level/ecological' and 'individual-level'. Evidence was primarily generated from bio-behavioural cross-sectional surveys of PWID, undertaken during 2008-2012. Individuals in the window period (1-2 months) where the virus is present, but antibodies have not yet been formed, were considered to have recent infection. The survey data were supplemented with service data on the provision of injecting equipment and OST. 

Ecological analyses examined changes in intervention provision, self-reported intervention uptake, self-reported risk behaviour and HCV incidence; individual-level analyses investigated relationships within the pooled survey data. Nearly 8,000 PWID were recruited in the surveys. We observed a decline in HCV incidence, per 100 person-years, from 13.6 (95\% CI: 8.1-20.1) in 2008-09 to 7.3 (3.0-12.9) in 2011-12; a period during which increases in the coverage of OST and IEP, and decreases in the frequency of injecting and sharing of injecting equipment, were observed. Individual-level evidence demonstrated that combined high coverage of needles/syringes and OST were associated with reduced risk of recent HCV in analyses that were unweighted (AOR 0.29, 95\%CI 0.11-0.74) and weighted for frequency of injecting (AORw 0.05, 95\%CI 0.01-0.18). We estimate the combination of harm reduction interventions may have averted 1400 new HCV infections during 2008-2012.

CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to demonstrate that impressive reductions in HCV incidence can be achieved among PWID over a relatively short time period through high coverage of a combination of interventions.}
}

@misc{ndc24756,
           month = {June},
           title = {Alcohol education for Australian schools: What are the most effective programs?},
          author = {Nicole Lee and Jacqui Cameron and Samantha Battams and Ann Roche},
         address = {Adelaide},
       publisher = {National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction},
            year = {2014},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/24756/},
        abstract = {A scientific approach to understanding what works and what does not, by using the best available evidence, can lead to policy and implementation decisions that are more effective in achieving desired outcomes.

A systematic review was undertaken to assist schools to effectively utilise the evidence in order to decide on appropriate school alcohol education programs. A systematic review is a method of assessing whether a program is effective or not by collating all the research on a specific question and looking at the whole body of evidence together. Within each program type, the available studies were examined in detail by two researchers and assessed for both the quality of the research and the outcomes for students.

Three programs, CLIMATE Schools (Australia), Project ALERT (USA) and All Stars (USA) had enough evidence to support their general use in schools. Four programs showed some evidence of good outcomes and may be suitable for use by some schools where those outcomes are high priority (Life Skills Program, SHAHRP, Unplugged EU-DAP, and Life Skills Training) especially if outcomes are monitored within the school. One program showed no evidence of positive effect (DARE) and two showed negative outcomes (such as increases in drinking) (Peer Acceleration Social Network (Project TND) and Take Charge of Your Life) and are not recommended for use in Australian schools. The remaining 29 programs showed inconclusive results (i.e. those with poor quality research, inconsistent effects, or only one available study) and are also not recommended for schools until further research is conducted.

Common elements of effective programs included: accurate evidence based information about alcohol; a focus on social norms; an interactive presentation style; clear, achievable and measureable goals and objectives; teacher training and support; and a whole of school approach.}
}

@misc{ndc12531,
           month = {April},
           title = {Interventions to reduce substance misuse among vulnerable young people.},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence},
            year = {2014},
            note = {NICE public health intervention guidance 4.},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/12531/},
        abstract = {The Department of Health asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE or the Institute) to produce public health guidance on community-based interventions to reduce substance misuse among vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people.

The guidance is for NHS and non-NHS practitioners and others who have a direct or indirect role in ? and responsibility for ? reducing substance misuse. This includes those working in local authorities and the education, voluntary, community, social care, youth and criminal justice sectors.}
}

@misc{ndc13599,
           month = {April},
           title = {Principles of drug abuse treatment for criminal justice populations - a research-based guide.},
         address = {Bethesda, md},
       publisher = {National Institute on Drug Abuse},
            year = {2014},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/13599/},
        abstract = {1.	Drug addiction is a brain disease that affects behavior.
2.	Recovery from drug addiction requires effective treatment, followed by management of the problem over time.
3.	Treatment must last long enough to produce stable behavioral changes.
4.	Assessment is the first step in treatment.
5.	Tailoring services to fit the needs of the individual is an important part of effective drug abuse treatment for criminal justice populations. 
6.	Drug use during treatment should be carefully monitored. Treatment should target factors that are associated with criminal behavior. 
7.	Treatment should target factors that are associated with criminal behavior.
8.	Criminal justice supervision should incorporate treatment planning for drug abusing offenders, and treatment providers should be aware of correctional supervision requirements. 
9.	Continuity of care is essential for drug abusers re-entering the community. A balance of rewards and sanctions encourages pro-social behavior and treatment participation. 
10.	A balance of rewards and sanctions encourages pro-social behavior and treatment participation.
11.	Offenders with co-occurring drug abuse and mental health problems often require an integrated treatment approach. Medications are an important part of treatment for many drug abusing offenders. 
12.	Medications are an important part of treatment for many drug abusing offenders.
13.	Treatment planning for drug abusing offenders who are living in or re-entering the community should include strategies to prevent and treat serious, chronic medical conditions, such as HIV/AIDS , hepatitis B and C , and tuberculosis.}
}

@misc{ndc25003,
           month = {March},
           title = {Primary care behavioral interventions to prevent or reduce illicit drug and nonmedical pharmaceutical use in children and adolescents: a systematic evidence review for the U.S. preventive services task force.},
          author = {Carrie D Patnode and Elizabeth O?Connor and Maya Rowland and Brittany Burda and Leslie Perdue and Evelyn P Whitlock},
         address = {Rockville, MD},
       publisher = {Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality},
            year = {2014},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/25003/}
}

@article{ndc21215,
          volume = {Issue 48, Winter 2013},
           month = {January},
          author = {Martin Keane},
           title = {Substance use prevention education in schools: an update on actions in the drugs strategy.},
       publisher = {Health Research Board},
         journal = {Drugnet Ireland},
           pages = {17},
            year = {2014},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/21215/}
}

@article{ndc24371,
          volume = {1},
          number = {3-4},
          author = {Gregor Burkhart},
           title = {International standards in prevention: how to influence prevention systems by policy interventions?},
       publisher = {The Columbo Plan},
         journal = {International Journal of Prevention and Treatment of Substance Use Disorders},
           pages = {18--37},
            year = {2014},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/24371/},
        abstract = {The existence of multiple standards for drug prevention, published by different national and international organisations, might seem redundant and confusing at a glance. This paper aims to explain the rationales of the different standards and that they differentially respond to specific challenges of each of the three main components of a prevention system: interventions, services and people. Effectiveness of standards can improve the effectiveness of programmes and interventions, while process standards can improve the con-text within which effective programmes and interventions are implemented. 

The variety of the existing standards and their different levels of exigencies can be beneficiary if policy makers apply them in combination - ie. choosing effective interventions and assuring that they are properly implemented and accepted, and in the appropriate cultural and geographic context. Other international organisations involved provide additional support such as certified training and online resources. Taken together, these initiatives might pave the way for setting up accreditation systems, in some countries, and help to assure that prevention providers take up such effective interventions and that prevention professionals are capable of implementing and willing to use it. All this requires, however, the political will to actually implement these standards since it implies revising, challenging and improving customary prevention systems with traditional approaches.}
}

@techreport{ndc23079,
          number = {HRB drug and alcohol evidence review 2},
          author = {Tony Munton and Elaine Wedlock and Alan Gomersall},
         address = {Dublin},
           title = {The efficacy and effectiveness of drug and alcohol abuse prevention programmes delivered outside of school settings.},
            type = {Other},
       publisher = {Health Research Board},
     institution = {Health Research Board},
            year = {2014},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/23079/}
}

@misc{ndc24755,
           title = {Alcohol education: what really works?},
          author = {Ann Marie Roche and Nicole Lee and Jacqui Cameron},
         address = {Adelaide},
       publisher = {National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction},
            year = {2014},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/24755/},
        abstract = {A major systematic review of research on alcohol education programs in schools was undertaken by the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) at Flinders University, Australia.

If you are looking to introduce or revise alcohol education in your school, this information booklet will help you choose a program that has been found to be effective.}
}

@misc{ndc22702,
           title = {Determining the impact of opioid substitution therapy upon mortality and recidivism among prisoners: A 22 year data linkage study.},
          author = {Natasha Gisev and Sarah Larney and Jo Kimber and Lucy Burns and Don Weatherburn and Amy Gibson and Tim Dobbins and Richard Mattick and Tony Butler and Louisa Degenhardt},
         address = {Sydney},
       publisher = {National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre},
            year = {2014},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/22702/},
        abstract = {Prisoners experience very high rates of drug dependence, health problems and premature mortality. Without intervention they are highly likely to come into further contact with the criminal justice system, creating further health risk. Opioid dependence is a common problem among prisoners, and opioid substitution therapy (with methadone and buprenorphine) for opioid dependence may be an effective intervention in preventing morbidity, mortality and offending. Using retrospective data linkage, this study evaluated engagement with treatment, patterns of offending, incarceration and mortality among opioid-dependent people who received OST in New South Wales, Australia, at some time between 1985-2010. We linked all OST records with data on all court appearances 1993-2011, custody episodes 2000-2012, and mortality 1985-2012. 

A total of 638,545 charges were laid against cohort members between 1993-2011. Eight in ten males (79.7\%) and 67.9 percent of females had at least one charge; rates were 94.15 per 100 PY (95\% CI 93.89-94.41) among males, and 53.19 per 100 PY (95\% CI 52.91-53.46) among females, and highest at 15-19 years (175.74 per 100 PY males (95\% CI 174.45-177.03), 75.60 per 100 PY females (95\% CI 74.46-76.76)) and 20-24 years (144.61 per 100 PY males (95\% CI 143.70-145.53), 84.50 per 100 PY females (95\% CI 83.53-85.48)). The most frequent charges were theft (24.5\% of all charges), traffic/vehicle offences (16.3\%), offences against justice procedures (10.5\%), illicit drug offences (10.0\%), intentional injury offences (9.9\%) and public order offences (8.9\%). 

Almost four in ten of the cohort (37\%; 43\% of men and 24\% of women) had at least one episode of incarceration between 2000-2012. Men had a median of 3 (ranging between 1-47) incarcerations, and women, 2 (ranging between 1-35). Costs of incarceration of this cohort between 2000 and 2012 totalled nearly AUD\$3 billion. Our findings suggest that a substantial minority of opioid dependent people experience incarceration, usually on multiple occasions and at significant cost. 

Of the 34,962 people in the cohort, 6,830 were Indigenous and 28,132 were non-Indigenous. Among the 6,830 Indigenous people, 4,615 (67.6\%) were male and 2,215 (32.4\%) female. The median number of charges against Indigenous people (25, IQR 31) was significantly greater than non-Indigenous people (9, IQR 16) (p{\ensuremath{<}}0.001). The median proportion of follow-up time that Indigenous males and females spent in custody was twice that of non-Indigenous males (21.6\% vs. 10.1\%, p{\ensuremath{<}}0.001) and females (6.1\% vs. 2.9\%, p{\ensuremath{<}}0.001). The proportion of Indigenous people who first commenced OST in prison (30.2\%) was three times that of non-Indigenous people (11.2\%) (p{\ensuremath{<}}0.001).

Following on from our study of patterns of offending among opioid-dependent people, we also examined the effect of OST treatment and retention on crime rates among 10,744 opioid-dependent people who first entered OST on or after 1 January 2004. This allowed a comparison of crime rates in the four years immediately prior to treatment entry (the average time before an individual enters treatment after becoming opioid dependent), as well as periods in and out of OST after initiating treatment. We adjusted for time spent in custody over this period.

The crude crime rate (CCR) per 100 person-years for all offences that individuals were charged with prior to treatment entry was 130.78 (95\% CI 129.65-131.91). A 32\% reduction was observed while individuals were in OST [CCR per 100PY 88.29, 95\% CI 86.96-89.63] and a 20 percent reduction was observed while individuals were out of OST [CCR per 100PY 101.67, 95\% CI 100.35-102.99]. When comparing the crime rates after treatment entry only, being out of treatment was associated with a 15\% increase, compared to the ratre during time spent in treatment. 

We found that cohort members were in prison for 30,998 person-years (PY), during which time there were 51 deaths. The all-cause crude mortality rate (CMR) in prison was 1.6 per 1,000 PY (95\% CI: 1.2, 2.2 per 1,000 PY), and the unnatural death CMR was 1.1 per 1,000 PY (95\% CI: 0.8, 1.6 per 1,000 PY). Compared to prison time spent out of OST, the hazard of all-cause death was 74 percent lower while in OST in prison (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR): 0.26; 95\% CI: 0.13 to 0.50), and the hazard of unnatural death was 87 percent lower while in OST (AHR: 0.13; 95\% CI: 0.05 to 0.35). Compared to periods not in OST, the hazard of all-cause death during the first four weeks of incarceration was 94\% lower while in OST (AHR: 0.06; 95\% CI: 0.01 to 0.48). 

There were 100,978 person-years of follow-up post-release, during which time 1,050 deaths occurred, for a CMR of 10.4 per 1000 person-years (95\% CI: 9.8-11.0). Accidental drug-induced deaths were the most common cause of death. OST exposure in the four weeks post-release reduced the hazard of death by 75\% (adjusted hazard ratio 0.25; 95\%CI: 0.15, 0.52); OST receipt in prison had a short-term protective effect that decayed quickly across time. 

Through the use of a population-wide linkage we were able to avoid the limitations of small, selected and possible unrepresentative samples. Our study provides persuasive evidence that OST provision in prison and post-release reduces mortality risk in the immediate post-release period. We concluded that OST in prison and post-release reduces mortality risk in the immediate post-release period. OST in prison should be scaled up, and post-release OST continuation maximised.}
}

@misc{ndc24411,
           title = {Prevention and early intervention in children and young people?s services: ten years of learning.},
          author = {S Rochford and N Doherty and S Owens},
         address = {Dublin},
       publisher = {Centre for Effective Services},
            year = {2014},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/24411/}
}

@article{ndc22249,
          volume = {31},
          number = {3},
          author = {John Sheehan and Aileen Gill and BD Kelly},
           title = {The effectiveness of a brief intervention to reduce alcohol consumption in pregnancy: a controlled trial.},
       publisher = {Cambridge},
         journal = {Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine},
           pages = {175--189},
            year = {2014},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/22249/},
        abstract = {Objectives Alcohol consumption during pregnancy potentially has significant effects on both mother and baby. The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of a brief intervention to reduce alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

Methods This study was performed at the outpatient antenatal clinics of a large academic maternity teaching hospital in Dublin city centre. Six hundred and fifty-six women who drank alcohol before pregnancy were recruited at their first antenatal clinic visit. Drinking patterns before pregnancy, since becoming pregnant, and in later pregnancy (at {\texttt{\char126}}32 weeks of gestation) were assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). A controlled study was conducted ? participants were allocated to either the brief intervention group (screening and 5 minutes of non-directive discussion of their drinking pattern) or a control group (screening and treatment as usual).

Results Before pregnancy, 57\% of women consumed five or more units of alcohol per drinking occasion (i.e. binge drinking); during pregnancy, the rate of binge drinking fell to 4.8\%. Sixty per cent of women who drank before pregnancy ceased drinking when pregnant, and a further 9\% reduced their intake substantially. Four hundred and ninety-nine women were followed up in later pregnancy. The brief intervention did not produce any significant reduction in alcohol consumption above that attributable to pregnancy and comprehensive screening in antenatal care. Larger reductions in alcohol intake during pregnancy were associated with younger age, non-Irish nationality and greater intake of alcohol before first antenatal clinic visit.

Conclusion Pregnancy itself produces abstinence and large reductions in alcohol consumption, even among women who drink relatively heavily. Consequently, a universal screening and brief intervention programme is not warranted but screening and targeted interventions could be appropriate such as repeated interventions for those who continue to binge drink. Future research could include evaluating interventions for those women who continue to binge drink during pregnancy and exploring ways of maintaining reductions in alcohol consumption among women who decreased consumption during pregnancy.}
}

@misc{ndc20661,
          volume = {15 Aug},
           month = {August},
           title = {Effectiveness Bank Bulletin [Therapeutic communities for offenders with co-occurring disorders].},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2013},
         journal = {Effectiveness Bank Bulletin},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/20661/},
        abstract = {Randomized trial of a reentry modified therapeutic community for offenders with co-occurring disorders: crime outcomes.
Sacks S., Chaple M., Sacks J.Y. et al. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment: 2012, 42, p. 247?259.

From the USA, the first randomised trial of a post-prison therapeutic community designed for psychologically disturbed problem substance using offenders found it halved the numbers reimprisoned and did even better when preceded by similar in-prison treatment, confirmation that what happens when people leave prison can be critical.
 
Summary 
Therapeutic communities are residential facilities with a distinctive therapeutic ethos and programme founded on joint living and peer influence. Core principles and methods include: a focus on the 'whole person'; a highly structured daily regimen; fostering personal responsibility and self-help in managing difficulties; using peers as role models and guides, with the peer community acting as the healing agent; regarding change as a gradual, developmental process and moving clients through progressive treatment stages; stressing work and self-reliance through the development of vocational and independent living skills; and promoting prosocial values within healthy social networks to sustain recovery.

Development of therapeutic communities for dual diagnosis prisoners:
Implemented in the community such facilities have reduced drug use and crime while increasing employment rates. Implemented in and adapted to the prison setting, they have led to significantly greater reductions in recidivism to drug use and crime than usual procedures, especially when followed on release by continuing care in a therapeutic community.

Therapeutic communities have also been adapted to the needs of problem substance users who suffer from serious psychiatric symptoms. Programmes are more flexible and less intense, activities are sustained for shorter periods, confrontation is reduced, more guidance and instruction is offered, sanctions are fewer, achievements are more explicitly affirmed, and there is greater sensitivity to individual differences.

These adapted communities have been implemented in prisons for offenders with both substance use and mental health problems. Further modifications have included a cognitive?behavioural curriculum on criminal thinking and behaviour and classes on the relationships between substance use, mental illness, and criminality. These components together with the core elements are expected to curb criminal behaviour more effectively than usual prison regimens.

Colorado communities evaluated:
Such facilities have been introduced in the US state of Colorado, where prisoners assessed as needing prison treatment programmes are required to attend them. The most psychiatrically disturbed are sent to a special facility, but the remaining population with substance use and mental health problems at entry could be required to undergo suitable treatment in prison, for which one option is a modified community of the type described above.

A study set in the same Colorado prisons as the featured study found that these communities did reduce post-release criminal recidivism compared to usual prison mental health and substance use services. Notably, just 9\% of offenders randomly allocated to them were re-imprisoned compared to 33\% after usual procedures. The figure was even lower among former community residents who on release entered the compatible residential parole programme. Former residents who did not enter the parole programmes evidenced no statistically significant crime reductions compared to usual procedures, though their reimprisonment rate remained less than half that of comparison offenders.

Featured study tests the parole phase:
The post-prison phase was the focus of the featured study. In the previous study continuing care of offenders paroled from prison seemed to reduce crime. However, the offenders had not been randomly allocated to the parole programme, so this apparent effect might have been due to the type of offenders who opted for or were offered a place. Like the original study, the featured study recruited prisoners with both substance use and mental health problems, but instead of randomly allocating them to different prison regimens, it randomly allocated paroled prisoners to the modified community's continuing care programme or to usual facilities.

The specialist community programme was similar to the in-prison regimen ? an intensive programme reliant on peer influence and guidance and based on therapeutic community principles adapted for offenders with both substance use and mental health problems. The usual facilities against which this was benchmarked were also residential, but the programme was less intense and consisted mainly of linking parolees to services in the community rather than providing them directly.

To join the study prisoners had to have been treated for their substance use and mental health problems at one of nine Colorado prisons and accepted for residential aftercare on leaving. Of 512 inmates offered the opportunity to participate in the study, 92 refused and 221 were refused a place in a community-based drug treatment facility. After other losses, 127 inmates were randomly assigned to the two parole care regimens. Just over half had at some time been homeless, nearly 80\% had been treated for mental health problems, and when recruited to the study on average they were experiencing severe psychological distress. Over 8 in 10 had used cocaine, two thirds amphetamines, and half opiates. All had committed a drug-related offence and most too property and violent offences.

Main issue for the study was the impact of the aftercare regimen, but it also checked whether this worked better if prisoners had already been through the corresponding in-prison programme. Also of interest was whether regardless of the aftercare regimen this prison programme had (as in the previous study) been more effective than usual prison support.}
}

@misc{ndc21015,
           month = {July},
           title = {Young people and alcohol: scoping approaches to prevent or reduce harm.},
          author = {K Laird},
         address = {Edinburgh},
       publisher = {NHS Health Scotland},
            year = {2013},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/21015/},
        abstract = {The aim of the scoping exercise was to:
Produce a national overview of the approaches developed and implemented to prevent or reduce harm to young people in Scotland caused by their own alcohol consumption.

Objectives:
? Identify the range of initiatives which are currently being delivered and categorise them by setting.
? Conduct semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders (ADPs, third sector organisations, NHS) to gain more in-depth information to inform the final report (and later consider developing case studies on active projects).
? Incorporate views from young people directly, to inform working practice}
}

@misc{ndc20156,
           month = {June},
           title = {Media campaigns for the prevention of illicit drug use in young people.},
          author = {Marica Ferri and Elias Allara and Alessandra Bo and Antonio Gasparrini and Fabrizio Faggiano},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd},
            year = {2013},
         journal = {Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/20156/},
        abstract = {Media campaigns to prevent illicit drug use are a widespread intervention. We reviewed 23 studies of different designs involving 188,934 young people and conducted in the United States, Canada and Australia. The studies tested different interventions and used several questionnaires to interview the young people about the effects of having participated in the studies brought to them. As a result it was very difficult to reach conclusions and for this reason we are highlighting the need for further studies.}
}

@misc{ndc19890,
          volume = {26 Mar},
           month = {March},
           title = {Effectiveness Bank Bulletin [Long-term effect of community-based adolescent treatment].},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2013},
         journal = {Effectiveness Bank Bulletin},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/19890/},
        abstract = {Long-term effect of community-based treatment: evidence from the adolescent outcomes project.
Edelen M.O., Slaughter M.E., McCaffrey D.F. et al. Drug and Alcohol Dependence: 2010, 107, p. 62?68.

The title speaks of long-term effects but in fact there were none from sending young US substance users to a youth therapeutic community specialising in substance use problems compared to non-specialist group homes; early gains had all eroded, an instance of the general difficulty of sustaining youth treatment outcomes.

Summary 
Few studies have reported on the long-term impacts of substance use treatment for adolescents, and those which have provide at best limited evidence that impacts persist. In particular, no such study has yet assessed long-term outcomes for drug-involved juvenile offenders receiving treatment outside custody, the majority of adolescent treatment admissions.

This US evaluation offers the first assessment of long-term effects nearly nine years after offenders had been referred by the juvenile justice system either to a drug-specialist residential therapeutic community for adolescents (the Phoenix Academy), or to other residential group living programmes of similar size and structure, but which did not offer specialised substance use treatment.

Relative to the group homes, the community had previously been shown to result 12 months after referral in significantly better substance use and psychological functioning. This report sets out to establish whether these improvements persisted and even 'snowballed', or were eroded by time and other influences.

In 1999 and 2000, 449 young people aged 13?17 joined the study after being contacted at a juvenile court; all were legal wards of the court. Of these, 175 were initially admitted the specialist community where they stayed for on average just over five months, about the same time as other young people stayed after being sent instead to one of the six comparison group homes.

The featured report drew its data from the 412 youngsters who completed any of the long-term follow-up interviews about three, seven and eight and a half years after the baseline interviews; of these, nearly 90\% had completed the final interview. Typically they were 15?16-year-old Hispanic/Latino boys who by the final follow-up would have averaged about 24 years of age. At study intake nearly 8 in 10 had met criteria for substance abuse and 55\% for dependence. For about half their main substance was cannabis. Despite extensive substance use, 59\% did not feel they needed treatment.

There were some appreciable differences between those sent and not sent to the Phoenix Academy, notably in motivation for treatment, extent of recent cannabis use, and substance use problems. An attempt was made to adjust outcomes for differences on these and other (totalling 88) dimensions as assessed before starting treatment. Then estimates were made of how well the young people would have done had they all been sent to Phoenix, or all to the other centres.}
}

@misc{ndc19370,
          volume = {25 Feb},
           month = {February},
           title = {Effectiveness Bank Bulletin [Methadone maintenance and staff attitudes]},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2013},
         journal = {Effectiveness Bank Bulletin},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/19370/},
        abstract = {1. Alternatives to non-clinical regulation: training doctors to deliver methadone maintenance treatment.
Bell J. Addiction Research: 1996, 3(4), p. 315?322.
Seminal study of how to train out socially derived attitudes to methadone maintenance as a policy solution to a social problem and train in attitudes which place it within mainstream medical practice as a treatment of individuals which does not 'fix' their problems but offers the opportunity for positive change.

Summary 
This account is based on the description of the study in the chapter by the same author 'Training health professionals to deliver methadone treatment' in the book 'Methadone maintenance treatment and other opioid replacement therapies' (1998). In the Australian state of New South Wales training for medical practitioners in the delivery of methadone maintenance treatment has comprised a written manual, an interactive workshop, and a supervised clinical placement. The training has been evaluated and progressively modified in the light of feedback from participants and observers.


2. Changing attitudes and beliefs of staff working in methadone maintenance programs.
Caplehorn J.R.M., Lumley T.S., Irwig L. et al. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health: 1998, 22(4), p. 505?508.
In Sydney in Australia an official campaign and educational efforts had the desired effect of shifting staff attitudes in methadone maintenance clinics away from achieving abstinence and withdrawal and towards long-term treatment aimed at reducing harm.

Summary 
The featured study sought to establish whether staff attitudes in methadone maintenance clinics in New South Wales in Australia changed as a result of an official campaign to reorient these programmes from aiming primarily for abstinence to aiming primarily to reduce harm. The data sources were two staff surveys either side of the campaign.

At the time of the first survey in 1989 health service policy on methadone maintenance was strongly abstinence-oriented: "The methadone program will have a drug-free outcome as its basic objective. Doctors and counsellors will be asked to actively pursue the withdrawal from methadone of patients whenever this can be achieved." In the second half of 1989, around the time the first survey was completed, a new policy was circulated stating that: "The principal aim of methadone treatment programs is to assist opioid-dependent persons to improve their health and social functioning and alleviate the adverse social consequences of their drug use by reducing and eliminating their illicit drug use ... Methadone treatment is also intended to complement strategies to minimise the risks of transmission of [HIV] amongst intravenous opioid users and from them to other members of the community."

To herald the change in policy, in mid-1989 a special HIV-focused issue of the health department's educational magazine for alcohol and drug treatment staff was produced. The first Australian National Methadone Conference was held in Sydney in New South Wales in 1991 and staff at public methadone units were paid to attend. Several hundred heard presentations on harm minimisation and the importance of methadone dose for retention of patients in maintenance. Staff training seminars conducted by the health department featured speakers from the conference.

To assess the results 90 staff were surveyed at the 10 public methadone units in Sydney in 1989 and 92 at 11 of the 12 clinics operating in 1992. The surveys assessed their orientation to abstinence/withdrawal versus maintenance as goals of methadone treatment ( panel), their disapproval of drug use, and their knowledge of the risks and benefits of maintenance treatment.}
}

@misc{ndc13641,
           title = {Alcohol, other drugs, and health: current evidence journal.},
         address = {Boston},
       publisher = {Boston University School of Medicine/Boston Medical Center},
            year = {2013},
            note = {Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Health: Current Evidence is a project of the Boston Medical Center, supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and produced in cooperation with the Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/13641/},
        abstract = {Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Health: Current Evidence is a free online newsletter that summarizes the latest clinically relevant research on alcohol, illicit drugs, and health. Through its summaries and other features, the newsletter aims to highlight alcohol and other drug issues and provide valuable information that can be applied in clinical teaching, practice, and research.

Published every two months, the newsletter includes the following features:
?Succinct and timely summaries of important alcohol and other drug research published in peer-reviewed journals; these summaries, which include commentary relevant to primary care practice, are written by physicians with clinical, research, and educational expertise in alcohol- and drug-related issues 

?PowerPoint slide presentations that can be downloaded and used as teaching tools:
?Update on Alcohol, Other Drugs, and Health, a "grand-rounds-like" presentation of the research summaries in the newsletter
?Journal Club, which critically appraises a study highlighted in the newsletter using the User's Guides to the Medical Literature

The newsletter, a project of the Boston Medical Center, is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and is produced in cooperation with the Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health.}
}

@misc{ndc24392,
           title = {Outcomes map: personal and social well-being.},
          author = {John Copps and Dawn Plimmer},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {New Philanthropy Capital},
            year = {2013},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/24392/}
}

@misc{ndc21008,
           title = {Effectiveness of school-based life-skills and alcohol education programmes: a review of the literature.},
          author = {Kerry Martin and Julie Nelson and Sarah Lynch},
         address = {Slough},
       publisher = {National Foundation for Educational Research},
            year = {2013},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/21008/},
        abstract = {The review explores: 
? the impact of alcohol education/life-skills programmes in developing school-age children?s: knowledge of, and attitudes towards, alcohol; skills (including confidence, assertiveness, resistance skills; decision-making, and ability to stay safe and healthy); and behaviours (particularly related to consumption patterns, including frequency of drinking and episodes of drunkenness) 
? which alcohol education/life-skills programmes offer greatest value for money 
? the processes that facilitate or inhibit the implementation, sustainability and impact of alcohol education/life-skills programmes. 

The review builds on a variety of previous literature reviews, which present a mixed picture of the effectiveness of alcohol education initiatives for school-aged pupils. For full details of these reviews, see Section 2 of the report.

Review findings:
Which programmes have greatest impact on children and young people?
? Previous literature reviews of alcohol education and life-skills programmes present a mixed picture of their effectiveness for school-aged pupils.
? There are difficulties in judging impact due to:
? the challenge of generalising about effective programme ingredients
? issues related to programme fidelity. If fidelity has not been investigated through a thorough process evaluation, it is difficult to ascertain whether outcomes are a result of the effectiveness (or otherwise) of the programme, or of the way in which it has been implemented.
? This review found substantial evidence relating to the positive effects of school-based alcohol education and life-skills programmes on pupils? alcohol related-knowledge.
? Few of the sources specifically measured the impacts on pupils? attitudes. Those that did, have variable and inconclusive findings.
? There is little evidence of the effectiveness of alcohol education and life-skills programmes in improving pupils? alcohol-related decision-making skills.
? There is a degree of evidence of the effectiveness of alcohol education and life-skills programmes in reducing the frequency of alcohol consumption and episodes of drunkenness among school-aged children. There are, however, limitations to several of the research studies cited.

Which programmes are most cost effective?
? Very few studies have investigated the cost benefits of universal school-based alcohol education programmes.
? There is some limited analysis of the costs incurred in running individual programmes, but no evidence as to how these compare to those of alternative programmes.
? World Health Organisation research suggests that school-based alcohol education is not cost effective in reducing alcohol-related harm in any European region. In contrast, alcohol pricing and taxation policy are cost-effective throughout Europe.
? However, some authors hypothesise that with just a very small effect size in reduced alcohol consumption rates among young people as a result of alcohol education programmes, the cost benefits to society could be substantial.
? There is evidence of one targeted residential programme in the USA (ChalleNGe), and of one specialist drug and alcohol service in the UK that have provided substantial cost benefits to individuals and society. These are not universal alcohol education programmes however.

What factors facilitate or inhibit the success of programmes?
? Programmes are not always transferrable from one situation or context to another. There needs to be caution when transferring lessons from effective programmes.
? Effective alcohol education curricula achieve a good balance between: accurate and consistent information giving and knowledge building; skills development; and sensitivity to factors influencing student attitudes and behaviours.
? Effective teaching and learning approaches include those that are interactive rather than didactic. Passive teaching approaches are associated with less favourable results.
? Course delivery by external professionals such as health workers and counsellors can sometimes lead to more positive outcomes than teacher-led delivery, and specialist school staff achieve more positive results than non-specialist teachers.
? There is tentative, but inconclusive, evidence that effective programmes focus on prevention rather than sanction, and on harm-reduction rather than abstinence.
The optimum age for effective exposure is unclear, but seems to be somewhere between the ages of 12 and 14. There is evidence that a series of short-duration interventions delivered through childhood, with booster sessions into adolescence, is an effective approach. Whatever age programmes are introduced, the cognitive expectations and teaching and learning approaches must be age appropriate.
? Parents and families act as critical protective agents for young people. Where families have been included in interventions, results are usually positive.
? In some instances, parental support is lacking. In such instances, schools have an increasingly important role to play in fulfilling a protective role.

Finally, we present the key findings of our review in relation to the degree of evidence of impact for different pupil outcomes, using the following terms: substantial evidence of impact; degree of evidence of impact; only a little evidence of impact. Where we are able to, we comment on apparent facilitators or inhibitors of impact.}
}

@misc{ndc24393,
           title = {Outcomes map: substance use and addiction.},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {The SRoI Network},
            year = {2013},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/24393/}
}

@misc{ndc18404,
          volume = {19 Sep},
           month = {September},
           title = {Effectiveness Bank Bulletin [Brief advice from the practice nurse to cardiovascular patients]},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2012},
         journal = {Effectiveness Bank Bulletin},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/18404/},
        abstract = {Improving lifestyle and risk perception through patient involvement in nurse-led cardiovascular risk management: a cluster-randomized controlled trial in primary care.
Koelewijn-van Loon M.S., van der Weijden T., Ronda G. et al. Preventive Medicine: 2010, 50, p. 35?44.

General practice patients in the Netherlands at risk of cardiovascular disease did not further reduce their risks (including drinking and smoking) in response to brief advice from the practice nurse intended to be delivered in accordance with motivational interviewing principles.

Summary:
Most patients at risk of cardiovascular diseases could benefit from various non-pharmacological risk-reduction options such as giving up smoking, exercising more, eating more healthily, and cutting their alcohol intake. However, it is not clear if programmes intended to foster these lifestyle changes are effective in the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. A systematic review of trials found no significant effects, though a recent trial showed that a nurse-coordinated programme achieved healthier lifestyle changes among patients at high risk.

The IMPALA study used a new intervention to reduce cardiovascular risk, in which general practice nurses play a central role. Key elements are risk assessment, risk communication, use of a patient decision support tool, and adapted motivational interviewing. Risk communication and the patient decision support tool inform patients about their risk of cardiovascular disease and options for risk reduction, and are also used to correct inappropriate risk perceptions. Motivational interviewing is used to help patients articulate their views and personal values regarding cardiovascular risk reduction and to build motivation for lifestyle change. In this study the intervention was delivered by practice nurses trained over two days and occupied two 20-minute face-to-face consultations (intended to give patients time to reflect on the information received in the first consultation) plus a further 10-minute telephone or face-to-face consultation to initiate the follow-up.

An earlier study found no impact a year after intervention but it was thought there might have been some shorter-term impacts, a possibility tested by the featured study. The study randomly allocated 25 general practices to the IMPALA intervention or to a control group whose nurses were trained for just two hours in risk assessment and apart from this merely applied usual care. One practice had to leave the study leaving 13 allocated to the intervention and 11 to the control group. Altogether they recruited 615 adult patients to the study who were eligible for cardiovascular risk assessment due to their blood pressure, cholesterol level, smoking, diabetes, family history or obesity. All but 67 were followed up 12 weeks later. They averaged about 57 years of age and 45\% were men.}
}

@misc{ndc23404,
          volume = {8},
           month = {August},
          author = {Kristin V Carson and Malcolm P Brinn and Nadina A Labiszewski and Matthew Peters and Anne B Chang and Antony Veale and Adrian J Esterman and Brian J Smith},
         address = {London},
           title = {Interventions for tobacco use prevention in Indigenous youth.},
       publisher = {John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd},
         journal = {Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews},
            year = {2012},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/23404/}
}

@misc{ndc17699,
          volume = {10 June 2012},
           month = {June},
           title = {Effectiveness bank bulletin. [Disulfiram studies]},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2012},
         journal = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/17699/},
        abstract = {Disulfiram (Antabuse) ? unfashionable but effective alcohol treatment
Approved by the USA as an alcohol treatment in 1951, disulfiram has suffered from a reputation as a dangerous medication only suitable for highly motivated and strictly supervised drinkers who totally avoid alcohol, and therefore too the aversive physical reactions the drug causes after drinking. But experience has shown that at currently recommended doses it is acceptably safe and, in the right circumstances, a drug chosen and taken by many severely dependent drinkers seeking to sustain abstinence. 

Stimulated by the first systematic synthesis of research (first entry below), this bulletin focuses on new and seminal disulfiram research from the UK and overseas available in the Effectiveness Bank. This work both shows that it can be an effective aid for many drinkers, and also exemplifies its key weakness - that without the right support and motivation, most patients simply stop taking or never take the tablets.

?	The efficacy of disulfiram for the treatment of alcohol use disorder.
J{\o}rgensen C.H., Pedersen B., T{\o}nnesen H.  Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research: 2011, 35(10), p 1?10.
Under effective supervision from family or clinicians to sustain compliance with taking the tablets, the drug disulfiram which produces an unpleasant physical reaction to drinking does act as an aid to abstinence in the treatment of alcohol dependence.

?	Audit of alcohol detoxification at Leeds Addiction Unit.
Rana A., Luthra V., Wazir M.N.K. et al. Drugs and Alcohol Today: 2012, 12(1), p. 45?50.
In a specialist hospital unit in Leeds, virtually all the alcohol dependent outpatients completed detoxification and all but a few went on to try to sustain their drinking reductions using the aversive medication disulfiram, indicative of what can be achieved in these settings.

?	Disulfiram in severe alcoholism ? an open controlled study.
Ulrichsen J., Nielsen M.K., Ulrichsen M. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry: 2010, 64(6), p. 356?362.
From Denmark a randomised trial of disulfiram in the treatment of alcohol dependence reveals the major weakness of the treatment - that among some sets of patients, few will consistently take tablets they know will cause unpleasant effects if they drink.

?	Disulfiram treatment of alcoholism.
Chick J., Gough K., Falkowski W. et al. British Journal of Psychiatry: 1992, 161, p. 84?89.
Still relevant today, from the early 1990s this UK randomised trial of disulfiram in the treatment of alcohol dependence found that, given daily supervision to make sure patients took tablets they knew would cause unpleasant effects if they drank, the effect was to significantly reduce drinking.}
}

@misc{ndc14033,
           month = {May},
           title = {Evidence of efficacy: Prevention interventions for families.},
         address = {Lisbon},
       publisher = {European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction},
            year = {2012},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/14033/},
        abstract = {Comprehensive family-oriented prevention interventions proved to be effective in reducing substance use (licit and illicit). Home visitation for disadvantaged families showed effects in reducing licit substance use. Interventions aimed at parents only needs to be further investigated.

The EMCDDA Best Practice Portal presents a summary of findings in this area.}
}

@article{ndc17280,
          volume = {Issue 41, Spring 2012},
           month = {April},
          author = {Martin Keane},
           title = {Implementing needle exchange programmes: the evidence base.},
       publisher = {Health Research Board},
         journal = {Drugnet Ireland},
           pages = {17--18},
            year = {2012},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/17280/}
}

@misc{ndc16849,
          volume = {19 Jan},
           month = {January},
           title = {Effectiveness Bank Bulletin. [Interventions for college drinkers]},
       publisher = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
            year = {2012},
         journal = {Drug and Alcohol Findings},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/16849/},
        abstract = {1. What makes group MET work? A randomized controlled trial of college student drinkers in mandated alcohol diversion.
LaChance H., Feldstein Ewing S.W., Bryan A.D. et al. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors: 2009, 23(4), p. 598?612.

US students who broke college drinking rules and were required to undertake an alcohol programme responded better to three hours of group motivational interviewing than six of alcohol education; enhanced confidence that they could resist risky drinking was the key. For colleges it offers an effective but economical response to problem drinkers.

Summary 
A review of studies of interventions to reduce drinking among college students found these on average worked best when they incorporated elements of motivational interviewing, and also when some techniques often used during this approach were included ? specifically, feedback to the student on how their drinking compares to the norm, feedback on what the student expects from drinking or why they drink, and exercises weighing the pros and cons of drinking.

The review also found that face-to-face interventions and those delivered one-to-one had the greatest impacts on drinking. However, such interventions are not always feasible or cost effective. Court-referred or university-based alcohol education and diversion programmes are commonly provided in a group modality, and with some success have adapted motivational interviewing to this setting with consequent drinking reductions. But how they work is poorly understood. Studies to date have highlighted the impact on social and enhancement motives for drinking but found no support for other expected mechanisms such as enhancing readiness to change one's drinking. Knowing more about the mechanisms should enable us to develop more effective interventions and/or training for interventionists.

To explore these mechanisms, at a US university the study successfully recruited 206 students required to attend alcohol education classes as one of the sanctions for minor underage drinking infractions of the institution's rules. They were randomly assigned to one of three small-group interventions:
? the university's standard two three-hour interactive alcohol education groups;
? one three-hour motivational interviewing session; or
? one three-hour lecture-format alcohol information session.

Responses from baseline questionnaires were used to create personal feedback handouts for students assigned to motivational interviewing on how their drinking compared to national averages. During the group, exercises conducted along motivational lines involved responses written on board so all the group could evaluate and discuss, and finally help each other develop strategies to alter high-risk drinking, substance abuse, and risktaking. Neither of the other two group options featured individualised information or collaborative harm reduction exercises and discussions.

Follow-ups which re-assessed drinking were completed via the internet three and six months later when responses were received from 80\% and 76\% respectively of the students. 


2. Drink less or drink slower: the effects of instruction on alcohol consumption and drinking control strategy use.
Sugarman D.E., Carey K.B. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors: 2009, 23(4), p. 577?585.

What happens when instead of asking students to cut drinking, you ask them to use more moderation strategies such as spacing or avoiding heavy drinking situations? The results of this US study suggest that changes in strategy use may bear little relation to changes in drinking, and that intention to cut back is the most important factor.

Summary 
Studies have not consistently found that teaching college students strategies to moderate their drinking are actually followed by less drinking, and students who use these strategies more intensely do not necessarily drink less. Such strategies include spacing out drinks, drinking slowly, refusing drinks or spirits in particular, eating before drinking, finding non-alcoholic alternatives, and avoiding drink-promoting situations. Some studies have found that moderate use of such strategies is associated with less drinking than using them very little or very much. On the other hand, at least one study found that mailed feedback on their drinking did curb college student drinking, and seemingly did so because it promoted the use of protective strategies.

The featured study at a US college sought to clarify the relation between strategy use and drinking by instructing students to either use more strategies or to drink less. Issues addressed included whether using more or certain kinds of strategies would reduce drinking, and whether more and what types of strategies were used when the student was trying to cut down.

The study recruited 177 mainly female and campus-resident college student drinkers aged at least 18. At first they reconstructed the amount they had drunk over the past two weeks as a baseline against which to assess whether in the following fortnight they changed the amount they drank. During the fortnight all were asked to record each day how much they had drank and what moderation strategies they had used. Following the initial assessment, they were allocated at random to merely conduct this monitoring, or additionally to an instruction to over the next fortnight halve the amount they drank, or to double their use of a list or moderation strategies. Over 80\% returned to be re-assessed at the end of the fortnight.}
}

@misc{ndc17875,
           title = {Addiction medicine: closing the gap between science and practice.},
         address = {New York},
       publisher = {Columbia University.The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse},
            year = {2012},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/17875/},
        abstract = {CASA Columbia?s new five year national study reveals that addiction treatment is largely disconnected from mainstream medical practice. While a wide range of evidence-based screening, intervention, treatment and disease management tools and practices exist, they rarely are employed. The report exposes the fact that most medical professionals who should be providing treatment are not sufficiently trained to diagnose or treat addiction, and most of those providing addiction treatment are not medical professionals and are not equipped with the knowledge, skills or credentials necessary to provide the full range of evidence-based services, including pharmaceutical and psychosocial therapies and other medical care.

This landmark report examines the science of addiction--a complex disease that involves changes in the structure and function of the brain--and the profound gap between what we know about the disease and how to prevent and treat it versus current health and medical practice.

Highlights from the report:
?	Forty million Americans ages 12 and older (16 percent) have the disease of addiction involving nicotine, alcohol or other drugs, a disease affecting more Americans than heart conditions, diabetes or cancer; another 80 million people are risky substance users ? using tobacco, alcohol and other drugs in ways that threaten health and safety.
?	About 7 in 10 people with diseases like hypertension, major depression and diabetes receive treatment; only about 1 in 10 people who need treatment for addiction involving alcohol or other drugs receive it while the number receiving treatment for nicotine is not even known.
?	Addiction treatment facilities and programs are not adequately regulated or held accountable for providing treatment consistent with medical standards and proven treatment practices. 
?	In 2010 only \$28 billion was spent to treat the 40 million people with addiction. In comparison, the United States spent:
 	\$44 billion to treat diabetes which affects 26 million people; 
 	\$87 billion to treat cancer which affects 19 million people;
 	\$107 billion to treat heart conditions which affect 27 million people.}
}

@misc{ndc24390,
           title = {Talking points personal outcomes approach: practical guide.},
          author = {Ailsa Cook and Emma Miller},
         address = {Edinburgh},
       publisher = {Joint Improvement Team},
            year = {2012},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/24390/}
}

@misc{ndc17206,
           title = {The impact of drug treatment on reconviction.},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse},
            year = {2012},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/17206/},
        abstract = {This study compares the differences in the conviction rates of known offenders during the two years before their initial assessment for drug treatment and the two years after.

It presents the results of an analysis of data from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System and conviction records from the Police National Computer. The data is drawn from a cohort of people who started a new course of drug treatment in 2006-07 and who had at least one conviction during the two years prior to their start date. The study was limited to trigger offences  and soliciting (i.e. prostitution).
?	The individuals retained in treatment for the entire two-years (4,677) showed an average 47\% reduction in convictions
?	Those who completed treatment successfully after being retained in treatment for six months or more showed virtually the same average reduction (48\%) as those retained in treatment for the full two years
?	Those retained for the full period reduced their convictions by three times more than those who dropped out of treatment, who achieved just 15\%
?	For all those who both completed treatment successfully and did not return during the period, the observed reduction in convictions is 61\%. 

While these figures cannot be interpreted as direct, quantifiable measures of a causal effect of drug treatment, the results suggest that exposure to treatment reduces recorded convictions and therefore offending, as the greater the successful engagement in treatment, the greater the observed reduction. This is most noticeable in opiate and/or crack cocaine users, who make up the majority of the cohort.

By focusing on engaging clients and promoting successful completions, drug treatment can help to maximise reductions in offending by individuals receiving help for their addiction, particularly if they use opiates and/or crack cocaine.}
}

@misc{ndc26336,
          volume = {7},
          number = {9},
          author = {Maria T Moreira and Reza Oskrochi and David R Foxcroft},
           title = {Personalised normative feedback for preventing alcohol misuse in university students: Solomon three-group randomised controlled trial.},
       publisher = {National Library for Public Health},
         journal = {PloS one},
           pages = {e44120},
            year = {2012},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/26336/},
        abstract = {BACKGROUND: Young people tend to over-estimate peer group drinking levels. Personalised normative feedback (PNF) aims to correct this misperception by providing information about personal drinking levels and patterns compared with norms in similar aged peer groups. PNF is intended to raise motivation for behaviour change and has been highlighted for alcohol misuse prevention by the British Government Behavioural Insight Team. The objective of the trial was to assess the effectiveness of PNF with college students for the prevention of alcohol misuse.

METHODOLOGY: Solomon three-group randomised controlled trial. 1751 students, from 22 British Universities, allocated to a PNF group, a normal control group, or a delayed measurement control group to allow assessment of any measurement effects. PNF was provided by email. Participants completed online questionnaires at baseline, 6- and 12-months (only 12-months for the delayed measurement controls). Drinking behaviour measures were (i) alcohol disorders; (ii) frequency; (iii) typical quantity, (iv) weekly consumption; (v) alcohol-related problems; (vi) perceived drinking norms; and (vii) positive alcohol expectancies. Analyses focused on high-risk drinkers, as well as all students, because of research evidence for the prevention paradox in student drinkers.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Follow-up rates were low, with only 50\% and 40\% responding at 6- and 12-months, respectively, though comparable to similar European studies. We found no evidence for any systematic attrition bias. Overall, statistical analyses with the high risk sub-sample, and for all students, showed no significant effects of the intervention, at either time-point, in a completed case analysis and a multiple imputation analysis.

CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence for the effectiveness of PNF for the prevention of alcohol misuse and alcohol-related problems in a UK student population.}
}

@misc{ndc16490,
          number = {11},
           title = {Mentoring adolescents to prevent drug and alcohol use.},
          author = {Roger E. Thomas and Diane Lorenzetti and Wendy Spragins},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd},
            year = {2011},
         journal = {Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/16490/},
        abstract = {Objectives: Assess effectiveness of mentoring to prevent adolescent alcohol/drug use.

Conclusions: All four RCTs were in the US, and included ?deprived? and mostly minority adolescents. Participants were young (in two studies age 12, and in two others 9-16). All students at baseline were non-users of alcohol and drugs. Two RCTs found mentoring reduced the rate of initiation of alcohol, and one of drug usage. The ability of the interventions to be effective was limited by the low rates of commencing alcohol and drug use during the intervention period in two studies (the use of marijuana in one study increased to 1\% in the experimental and to 1.6\% in the control group, and in another study drug usage rose to 6\% in the experimental and 11\% in the control group). However, in a third study there was scope for the intervention to have an effect as alcohol use rose to 19\% in the experimental and 27\% in the control group. The studies assessed structured programmes and not informal mentors.}
}

@misc{ndc13554,
          number = {8},
           title = {Oral substitution treatment of injecting opioid users for prevention of HIV infection.},
          author = {Linda Gowing and Michael Farrell and Reinhard Bornemann and Lynn E Sullivan and Robert Ali},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd},
            year = {2011},
         journal = {Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/13554/},
        abstract = {Injecting drug users are vulnerable to infection with HIV and other blood borne viruses as a result of collective use of injecting equipment as well as sexual behaviour. This review looks at original studies that reported the frequency or prevalence of risk behaviours, or information on HIV infection related to substitution treatment of opioid dependence to assess the extent to which oral substitution treatment prevents the transmission of HIV infection. It was not possible to accurately estimate the extent of reduction, but it is clear that oral substitution treatment reduces risk behaviours and also the probability of HIV infection amongst injecting drug users in substitution treatment.

[Click on link above for Cochrane review]}
}

@misc{ndc13562,
          number = {9},
           title = {Primary prevention for alcohol misuse in young people.},
          author = {David Foxcroft and Diana Ireland and Geoff Lowe and Rosie Breen},
       publisher = {John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd},
            year = {2011},
            note = {This review was withdrawn in 2011 but previous versions can be found.},
         journal = {Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/13562/},
        abstract = {Objectives:
1. To identify and summarize rigorous evaluations of psychosocial and educational interventions aimed at the primary prevention of alcohol misuse by young people. 
2. To assess the effectiveness of primary prevention interventions over the longer-term ({\ensuremath{>}} 3 years).}
}

@misc{ndc15934,
          volume = {9},
           title = {Universal family-based prevention programs for alcohol misuse in young people.},
          author = {David Foxcroft and Alexander Tsertsvadze},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd},
            year = {2011},
         journal = {Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/15934/},
        abstract = {Family-based alcohol misuse prevention for young people can be effective

We conducted a Cochrane systematic review of 12 randomised controlled trials that examined the effectiveness of family-based universal programs for the prevention of alcohol misuse in young people. In family settings, universal prevention typically takes the form of supporting the development of parenting skills including parental support, nurturing behaviours, establishing clear boundaries or rules, and parental monitoring. Social and peer resistance skills, the development of behavioural norms and positive peer affiliations can also be addressed with a universal family-based preventive program.

Most of the studies included in this review reported positive effects of family-based universal programs for the prevention of alcohol misuse in young people. Two studies, each with a large sample size, reported no effects. In conclusion, in this Cochrane systematic review we found that that the effects of family-based prevention interventions are small but generally consistent and also persistent into the medium- to longer-term.}
}

@misc{ndc15933,
          volume = {9},
           title = {Universal multi-component prevention programs for alcohol misuse in young people.},
          author = {David Foxcroft and Alexander Tsertsvadze},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd},
            year = {2011},
         journal = {Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/15933/},
        abstract = {Universal multi-component alcohol misuse prevention for young people can be effective

We conducted a Cochrane systematic review of 20 randomised controlled trials that examined the effectiveness of universal multi-component programs for the prevention of alcohol misuse in young people. Multi-component prevention programs are defined as those prevention efforts that deliver interventions in multiple settings, for example in both school and family settings, typically combining school curricula with a parenting intervention.

A majority of the studies included in this review reported positive effects of multi-component programs for the prevention of alcohol misuse in young people, with effects persisting into the medium- and longer-term. But a notable proportion of trials reported no statistically significant effects. In seven studies we were able to assess the impact of single versus multiple components, and only 1 out of the 7 studies clearly showed a benefit of components delivered in more than one setting.

In conclusion, there is some evidence that multi-component interventions for alcohol misuse prevention in young people can be effective. However, there is little evidence that interventions with multiple components are more effective than interventions with single components.}
}

@misc{ndc13214,
           month = {March},
           title = {Review of effectiveness of laws limiting blood alcohol concentration levels to reduce alcohol-related road injuries and deaths.},
          author = {Amanda Killoran and Una Canning and Nick Doyle and Linda Sheppard},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence},
            year = {2010},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/13214/},
        abstract = {The review aimed to assess how effective the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) laws are at reducing road traffic injuries and deaths. It also assessed the potential impact of lowering the BAC limit from 0.081 to 0.05.

The review examined: 
? drink-driving patterns and the associated risk of being injured or killed in a road traffic accident
? how BAC limits and related legislative measures have changed drink-drinking behaviour and helped reduce alcohol-related road traffic injuries and deaths
? models estimating the potential impact of lowering the BAC limit from 0.08 to 0.05 in England and Wales
? lessons from other countries on using BAC laws as part of overall alcohol control and road safety policies.

A conceptual framework was used to show how, in theory, a law limiting drivers? BAC levels could lead to changes in how much drivers drink and the number of alcohol-related road traffic injuries and deaths. The review of evidence tested these theoretical links and the robustness of the underlying assumptions.}
}

@article{ndc14156,
          volume = {17},
          number = {6},
          author = {Catherine Comiskey and Robert Stapleton},
           title = {Treatment pathways and longitudinal outcomes for opiate users: Implications for treatment policy and planning.},
       publisher = {Informa healthcare},
         journal = {Drugs: Education Prevention and Policy},
           pages = {707--717},
            year = {2010},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/14156/},
        abstract = {The aim is to model treatment pathways and outcomes of opiate users at intake and at 1- and 3-year follow-up and to assess the implications of these for treatment policy. Opiate users entering a new treatment episode were recruited.

Analysis revealed that there were no differences between the three outcome groups at intake. Those who were not in treatment and using at 3-years had displayed little improvement at 1-year and those who were not in treatment and not using at 3-years had displayed improvements in physical and mental health outcomes at 1-year.}
}

@techreport{ndc14047,
            type = {Other},
           title = {Building a national drugs observatory: a joint handbook.},
          author = {Alexis Goosdeel},
         address = {Luxembourg},
       publisher = {Publications Office of the European Union},
            year = {2010},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/14047/},
        abstract = {National drugs observatories have flourished and developed rapidly over the last two decades as a direct consequence of the decisions taken to establish regional drug monitoring systems, both in the European Union and in the Americas.  Initially, there was no reference framework available {--} observatories were set-up using trial and error, taking into account different national contexts and resources. This explains why today there are as many models of observatories as there are countries establishing them.

Looking back at this long process, there seemed to be a need to formalise the experiences in the field, and to identify some key concepts and principles that remain valid irrespective of country or region. This handbook, a joint production by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission of the Organization of American States (CICAD?OAS), presents and describes in a clear and informative way the core operational processes and the key strategic factors that are common to all national drugs observatories.

Table of contents
?	Why do we need a national drugs observatory?
?	What is a national drugs observatory?
?	Running a national drugs observatory {--} data collectionand monitoring
?	Running a national drugs observatory {--} analysis and interpretation
?	Running a national drugs observatory {--} reporting and dissemination
?	Ensuring a national drugs observatory is successful
?	Challenging questions
?	Conclusions}
}

@misc{ndc16655,
           title = {Needle \& syringe programme outcomes tool.},
         address = {England},
       publisher = {Injecting Advice Ltd},
            year = {2010},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/16655/},
        abstract = {The tool is a single page based on a mind-map. This includes areas of discussion around the main topics for NSP (overdose, injecting injury etc) as well as other topics that are often discussed in NSP but that workers rarely ever document (education, housing, employment). Recording of these discussion and related outcomes are increasingly important when it comes to talking to commissioners and maintaining funding.

This tool has been written to be easy and intuitive to use, but still be robust enough to enable workers to have in-depth conversations and keep track of outcomes and work done.

What makes this different from other NSP tools I've come across is that this doesn't just record the risk factors an injector has, but also keeps track of protective factors.

Supporting notes
This has extensive worker notes that explain the whole process. There is also a detailed example of how to 'score' the sheet and a tracking tool to monitor each individual?s scores}
}

@article{ndc13305,
          volume = {Issue 34, Summer 2010},
           title = {From Drugnet Europe.},
          author = {Joan Moore},
       publisher = {Health Research Board},
            year = {2010},
           pages = {24},
         journal = {Drugnet Ireland},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/13305/}
}

@misc{ndc13594,
           title = {Alcohol-use disorders: preventing the development of hazardous and harmful drinking.},
         address = {London},
       publisher = {National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence},
            year = {2010},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/13594/},
        abstract = {This guidance is for government, industry and commerce, the NHS and all those whose actions affect the population?s attitude to ? and use of ? alcohol. This includes commissioners, managers and practitioners working in:
?	local authorities
?	education
?	the wider public, private, voluntary and community sectors.
It may also be of interest to members of the public.

This is one of three pieces of NICE guidance addressing alcohol-related problems among people aged 10 years and older. (See also: Alcohol-use disorders in adults and young people: clinical management; and Alcohol dependence and harmful use: diagnosis and management in young people and adults.)

Alcohol-related harm is a major health problem. The guidance identifies how government policies on alcohol pricing, its availability and how it is marketed could be used to combat such harm (see recommendation 1 to 3). Changes in policy in these areas is likely to be more effective in reducing alcohol-related harm among the population as a whole than actions undertaken by local health professionals.

The recommendations for practice (recommendations 4 to 12) support, complement ? and are reinforced by ? these policy options. They cover:
?	Licensing.
?	Resources for identifying and helping people with alcohol-related problems.
?	Children and young people aged 10 to 15 years ? assessing their ability to consent, judging their alcohol use, discussion and referral to specialist services.
?	Young people aged 16 and 17 years ? identification, offering motivational support or referral to specialist services.
?	Adults ? screening, brief advice, motivational support or referral.}
}

@misc{ndc18246,
           title = {Telehealth in substance abuse and addiction: review of the literature on smoking, alcohol, drug abuse and gambling.},
          author = {Arto Ohinmaa and Patricia Chatterley and Thanh Nguyen and Philip Jacobs},
         address = {Alberta, Canada},
       publisher = {Institute of Health Economics},
            year = {2010},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/18246/},
        abstract = {Telemedicine and telehealth are defined as sending electronic health/health care information (e.g. data, audio, images) over distances between two or more individuals or sites. The scope of telehealth is somewhat wider than telemedicine since it includes areas such as self-help activities where people look for health related material that may impact their health or health behavior. Many conventional interventions in addictions have been shown to be effective; however, the widespread use of those interventions have often been limited due to a limited number of personal services provided by professionals and the stigma associated with seeking and accessing available services. Telehealth can potentially overcome many of these challenges by offering services over distances and providing these services to large populations at the same time. The aim of the study was to do a systematic review of telehealth studies in addiction/substance abuse and study the effectiveness and/or cost-effectiveness of the different telehealth applications in different addiction problems.

Results 
From the 1521 references identified in the search, 151 publications (9.9\% of all abstracts) were ordered for closer review and 145 were received for detailed review. Most of the articles came from the smoking cessation area (78) followed by alcohol (39), illicit drug use (10), and gambling (3). Of the studies, 15 were review articles, mainly from the smoking cessation (10). Through the telehealth activity, the studies were distributed to 64 applications via telephone, 39 via the Internet, 37 via computer/CD-rom and three via videoconferencing. Internet applications were relatively common in alcohol- and smoking-related programs. Internet applications for students had relatively good outcomes, especially if the intervention is directed to those who used alcohol or smoked. The results of primary prevention studies of starting alcohol use or smoking are not promising. The general population applications seem to be more effective, especially for alcohol problems.

Getting more individualized programs based on the personal characteristics and increasing the length and frequency of the sessions improve outcomes. Adding the Internet application to other treatments, either simultaneously or after, can be beneficial. A large majority of the studies were large scale randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which indicates that these results are relatively reliable. 

Similar to the Internet applications, many of the computer-based application programs were directed towards adolescents and college or university students. Most of these programs seem to be beneficial and the effectiveness was better in programs where students already used substances rather than in primary prevention type of programs. Some of the first programs did not use interactive and personalized information and, in general, they were not as effective compared to more theory-based intervention programs published at a later date. Overall, a majority of stand-alone computer applications had positive outcomes or were equivalent to face-to-face outcomes. The greatest uncertainty from the benefits can be seen in the smoking cessation studies where studies did not show clear positive outcome, especially student-based studies. Out of 13 telephone-based applications in alcohol and smoking, 12 showed positive or outcomes that were equivalent to conventional methods. Half of these studies were based on reviews and meta-analysis in telephone applications in smoking cessation where we included only review studies. Most of the applications involved the conventional use of telephone for mediating advice and therapy by distance. The use of cellular phones for text messaging has increased during the last few years; however, there are only a few studies in this category. 

Conclusion:
The results of this review indicate that the Internet, computer, and telephone applications in alcohol and smoking addictions are at least as effective as conventional services, especially when we review more recently published applications that utilize personalized, interactive modular settings. There was some evidence from telehealth in the area of illicit drugs applications, but the number of studies was still relatively small (eight studies). There is a need for further studies which use telehealth for gambling addiction. Although telehealth applications are expected to be less expensive than individual face-to-face therapies, there is no good quality literature in the cost-effectiveness of telehealth applications in the studied addictions.}
}

@techreport{ndc14461,
            type = {Other},
           title = {Evaluation of drug prevention activities: theory and practice.},
          author = {Alfred Uhl and Richard Ives},
       publisher = {Council of Europe, Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Drugs (Pompidou Group)},
            year = {2010},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/14461/},
        abstract = {This publication will explore the limitations for evaluation of drug prevention interventions and address the ways that evaluation can be made more effective. The Prevention Platform of the Pompidou Group (PG) of the Council of Europe has developed a framework of the publication in the context of the work undertaken in recent years in Europe to improve prevention interventions.

The results of this work include ?Handbook on prevention? by the PG and Jellinek Consultancy, ?Prevention and evaluation resources kit? by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) as well as its database of good practices developed within the framework of
the Exchange on Drug Demand Reduction Action (EDDRA), COST-A6 programme publications and the 2010 Prague Conference of the Pompidou Group ?Prevention evaluation: from dogma to useful tool?.}
}

@misc{ndc14412,
           title = {ATLAS on substance use (2010). Resources for the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders.},
         address = {Geneva},
       publisher = {World Health Organization},
            year = {2010},
             url = {http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/14412/},
        abstract = {The ATLAS on Substance Use provides a structured description of available prevention and treatment resources for substance use disorders in WHO regions, different income economies and the world. 

Chapter 1 introduces the epidemiological aspects of substance use disorders and provides information on the level of need for treatment. Chapter 2 illustrates health service resources. Data on the implementation of pharmacological treatment for substance use disorders are presented in chapter 3. Chapter 4 covers human resource aspects. Policy and legal resources are discussed in chapter 5, before concluding with resources for the prevention of substance use in chapter 6. The ATLAS report is based on a survey instrument and has been accomplished through collaboration with WHO regional and country offices, national focal points and a number of leading experts in the field of psychoactive substance use.}
}