Tag: alcohol

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Drug Education Takes Many Forms

Drug education does not solely require educating people about drugs; it can also mean educating them about how to use drugs safely. This increases their capacity to mitigate the risks related to drugs, empowering them to manage their substance use. In turn, this helps them make better decisions about use in the context of their own unique situation.

The Safer Use series, developed by the Centre for Addictions Research of BC, offers practical ways for people who use substances to be active players in their own well-being, including helping them develop skills in managing their patterns of use, as well as adopt safer modes of use and ways to mitigate risk.

Safer use

One of the challenges in developing the series was how to address effectively the needs of people who are experienced in substance use yet may be using in risky ways.  As the development process unfolded, it was helpful to constantly ask is the content …

  • Easy to understand. “Clear but not simplistic” is a useful principle to keep in mind. The aim is to help the reader grasp and use the content as easily as possible. Some ways to do this include using audience-appropriate everyday words (e.g., “drunk” rather than “intoxicated”) as well as clarifying with illustrations and using informative headings such as “before you start” and “things to avoid.”
  • Relevant. Knowing the audience is so important. Material that is tailored to address specific concerns helps engage people and draw them in. For instance, techniques of safer injecting may matter to street-entrenched youth, but would be less relevant for club- or party-going youth who may be more concerned about “safer tripping” strategies.
  • Useful. Ensuring suggested practices are doable and practical improves the chances they will be adopted. This involves going beyond the ideal (e.g., recommending the use of sterile water) and providing more accessible alternative measures (e.g., boiling tap water). While it’s critical to ground content in sound theory and evidence, lengthy explanations of the research behind a suggested practice can obscure key messages.
  • Credible. Making sure the content is objective and balanced helps build trust. Drug education efforts risk being discredited when messages conflict with the experience of the audience. Therefore it is important to offer an honest and even-handed discussion that acknowledges the positive effects of drugs as well as potential harms.

No substance use is completely without risk, but educating people who use drugs to manage use more safely affirms their self-efficacy – the capacity to increase control over their own health.

Reimer Bette-

Author: Bette Reimer, Research Associate, Centre for Addictions Research of BC

**Please note that the material presented here does not necessarily imply endorsement or agreement by individuals at the Centre for Addictions Research of BC.

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Risk of Injury: The Implications of Mental Health, Alcohol and Gender

Each year, hundreds of thousands of deaths occur due to intentional and unintentional injuries related to alcohol use. Alcohol impairs coordination as well as our ability to perceive and respond to hazardous situations, making it more likely that we will get hurt. Research shows the risk for injury increases as the amount of alcohol use increases. For example, someone consuming five or more drinks on one occasion is 10 times more likely to get injured in the following six hours. But are certain people more likely to get injured when they drink? Are there additional factors associated with alcohol use that could further increase your risk of injury?

In my Master’s thesis, I looked at how alcohol use, mental health symptoms and gender contributed to the risk of injury for British Columbians. I used data from the Alcohol and Other Drugs Monitoring Study, which collects data from people who are admitted to the Emergency department at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria and Vancouver General Hospital.

I found that the risk for injury increased as the amount of alcohol use increased. The greatest risk of injury is for men, and those consuming six or more drinks in the six-hour period prior to the injury event. I also found that mental health symptoms such as anxiety or depression exacerbated the effect of alcohol and the likelihood of injury among women. Women who consumed alcohol and had mental health symptoms were almost twice as likely to be injured compared to women without mental health symptoms.

Why would the presence of mental health symptoms place women at a greater risk for experiencing injury from alcohol use? It could be that women experiencing mental health issues are more likely to drink as a form of self-medication; however, it is difficult to determine the direction of this effect, as long-term alcohol use has been known to lead to the development of depression and anxiety. Another possible explanation is that because women with mental health symptoms are more likely to take medication to treat the symptoms, the alcohol may be interacting with the medication and resulting in detrimental effects. Finally, higher levels of impulsivity are found among individuals experiencing depression, and it may be that the combination of impulsivity and alcohol use could result in someone engaging in more risk-taking behaviors, thereby placing them at a greater risk of injury.

How can we use this information to help prevent future injuries? It is important that health care providers are aware of the combined effect of mental health symptoms and alcohol on risk of injury. If individuals presenting injuries at the emergency departments could be quickly screened for mental health symptoms such as anxiety and depression, the treatment of these symptoms could potentially result in a reduction of risky alcohol use and help to prevent future injuries. For future research, we hope to continue to look at the inter-relationships between these three factors on risk of injury. In particular, we want to look at whether the risk may differ when comparing violent to non-violent related injuries.

audra roemer

Author: Audra Roemer, Centre for Addictions Research of BC

Audra Roemer completed her Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Victoria in July 2014 and will be starting her PhD in September 2014. She studied at the University of British Columbia for her Bachelors degree; her research interests include: substance use, family and individual risk factors, gender, prevention, violence and injury, and child and adolescent development.

**Please note that the material presented here does not necessarily imply endorsement or agreement by individuals at the Centre for Addictions Research of BC.