Effectiveness Bank web site Bulletin
Supported by    Society for the Study of Addiction web site   Alcohol Change UK web site
Effectiveness Bank additions 12 October 2020
Criminal justice outcomes five years after treatment generate discussion about the potential limitations of ‘time-limited’ treatment. Prevention of alcohol-related harm across the life course highlighted with examples of risk-reduction efforts before a child is born and during the teenage years. Emergency departments test intervention for distributing the ‘overdose antidote’ naloxone to patients at risk of future overdoses.

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Which opiate-type medication performs better: methadone or buprenorphine?
Study examines patients’ long-term criminal justice outcomes after being allocated to either methadone or buprenorphine. How well each medication can retain patients in treatment may be the ultimate distinguishing factor, but putting a limit on the duration of treatment in the first place – as in this study – may be what limits its protective effects.

Concurrently addressing two risk factors for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy
Now added to the Effectiveness Bank, an analysis of a programme subsequently rolled out across the United States for women at high risk of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy. What do the findings tell us about the risk-reduction impact of trying to increase motivation and commitment to change both risky drinking and ineffective contraception use?

Effective ‘age-gating’: preventing underage people buying alcohol online
How do online retailers seek to prevent underage alcohol sales in the UK, how effective are current methods, and how far short are they of a truly effective system?

Prescribing take-home naloxone to people who recently had an overdose
Emergency department physicians regularly treat people who have had an opioid overdose, but they may not be making the most of the opportunity to provide take-home naloxone for future potential overdose events. Can a prompt in the patients’ electronic health records boost prescribing of this lifesaving ‘overdose antidote’?

Other news and updates
ALCOHOL TREATMENT MATRIX Row 3 of the Alcohol Treatment Matrix explored the treatment of alcohol dependence in a medical context or involving medical care. Appreciate the research which led us to conclude that “The placebo effect is the main active ingredient”, and learn how to make the most of this powerful influence.

AWARENESS DAYS On 9th September we marked International Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day with a special bulletin providing routes into the evidence base about prevention and brief intervention, and information about what official UK guidelines recommend for women who are pregnant or could get pregnant. On 10th October we called attention to World Homeless Day, and the extreme hardship and deep social exclusion characterising the lives of people with overlapping experiences of homelessness and substance use problems.

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The Alcohol and Drug Treatment Matrices: key research selected and explored.
Alcohol matrix for alcohol brief interventions and treatment.
Drug matrix for harm reduction and treatment in relation to illegal drugs.

The Drug and Alcohol Findings Effectiveness Bank offers a free mailing list service updating subscribers to UK-relevant evaluations of drug/alcohol interventions. Findings is supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction and Alcohol Change UK, and advised by the National Addiction Centre.