The 1999 ESPAD report: alcohol and other drug use among students in 30 European countries.

The purpose of the ESPAD project is to collect comparable data on alcohol, tobacco and durg use among 15-16 year old students in as many European countries as possible. The longterm aim is toto study trends in alcohol and drug habits among students in Europe and to compare trends between countries. Every four years repeat studies are conducted. The report details study design and procedures, methodological considerations, and changes in the use of alcohol and other drugs from 1995 to 1999. The report then presents results relating to: tobacco use, alcohol use, illicit drugs, lifetime drug use and abstinence, attitudes, perceived cigarettes, and alcohol and drug use among friends. Key results are given for each country: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine and United Kingdom. Appendices include an overview of the sampling and data collection in participating countries, tables of available data, and the student questionnaire used

Street-based adolescents at high risk of HIV in Ukraine

BACKGROUND: Ukraine has the highest HIV prevalence in Europe, with young people disproportionately represented among populations at high risk. One particularly vulnerable group comprises adolescents who live or work on the streets. This study aimed to measure the extent and distribution of HIV risk behaviours among street-based adolescents in four Ukrainian cities as part of a regional UNICEF HIV prevention programme for most-at-risk adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional behavioural survey was conducted of 805 adolescents (aged 10-19 years) in the cities of Kiev, Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk and Nikolaev. Using location-based network and convenience sampling, 200 adolescents were reached in each site and were administered a standardised questionnaire on drug use, sexual behaviour, condom use, HIV knowledge, access to prevention services, experience of violence and contact with state institutions and police. RESULTS: Considerable levels of HIV risk behaviour were found, including injecting drug use among 15.5% of the sample. Almost three-quarters of adolescents had experienced sexual debut, most before the age of 15 years. Male-to-male sexual behaviour was reported by just under 10% of boys. Condom use was low although varied by partner type. There were high rates of forced sex, and 75.5% of respondents reported police harassment. CONCLUSIONS: Street-based adolescents in Ukraine are at significant risk of contracting HIV due to involvement in injecting drug use and unprotected sex in personal and commercial exchanges, including male-to-male sex. This group initiates risk behaviours at early ages, and does not appear to have good access to prevention and other health services

The Importance of Clinical and Biochemical Markers in the Diagnosis of Disorders of the Psychomotor and Physical Development of Children who Underwent Perinatal CNS Lesions

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the blood level of neurotrophic factors (S100 protein, nerve growth factor, L- homocysteine and angiotensin II) in the diagnosis of disorders of the psychomotor and physical development of children who underwent perinatal CNS lesions. A comprehensive approach to assessing the blood levels of neurotrophic factors, along with methods of neuroimaging in children in the first 6 months of the postnatal period, allows identification of the total result of multidirectional degenerative-reparative processes in the neurovascular components of CNS and construction of the diagnostically significant criteria of the severity of neuropathology, which determines the physical development of children in the first year of life

Exploring the impact of military conflict on sex work in Ukraine: Women's experiences of economic burden

Little is known about the impact of military conflict on sex work from the perspective of sex workers. We attempt to explore the meaning of conflict on sex work by asking women about the changes that they have experienced in their lives and work since the beginning of the 2014 military conflict in eastern Ukraine. The findings in this article are based on qualitative interviews with 43 cisgender women living and practicing sex work in Dnipro, eastern Ukraine. Our analysis highlights the meanings that sex workers have linked to the conflict, with financial concerns emerging as a dominant theme. The conflict therefore functions as a way of understanding changing economic circumstances with both individual and broader impacts. By better understanding the meaning of conflict as expressed by sex workers, we can begin to adapt our response to address emerging, and unmet, needs of the community

ESPAD Report 2019: Results From European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs

The main purpose of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) is to collect comparable data on substance use and other forms of risk behaviour among 15- to 16-year-old students in order to monitor trends within, as well as between, countries. Between 1995 and 2019, seven waves of data collection were conducted across 49 European countries. This report presents selected key results. The full set of data on which the current report is based, including all of the standard tables, is available online (http://www.espad.org). All tables can be downloaded in Excel format and used for further analysi

ESPAD report 2003: alcohol and other drug use among students in 35 European countries.

A main purpose of the ESPAD project is to collect comparable data on alcohol, tobacco and drug use among 15–16 year old students in European countries. The studies are conducted as school surveys by researchers in each participating country, during the same period of time and with a common methodology. By adopting this ESPAD format, comprehensive and comparable data on alcohol, tobacco and drug use among European students are produced

The 2007 ESPAD report. Substance use among students in 35 countries.

Use of illicit drugs among 15–16-year-old school students, appears to have stabilised or slightly fallen, according to the latest European study of this group published today by ESPAD. The report, which follows a 2007 survey conducted in 35 European countries, also reveals a decrease in last-month rates of cigarette smoking among school students. However, it sounds the alarm over clear rises in the group’s ‘heavy episodic drinking’, and the narrowing gender gap in this behaviour

Summary 2011 ESPAD report. Substance use among students in 36 European countries

The main purpose of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) is to collect comparable data on substance use among 15- to 16-year-old European students in order to monitor trends within as well as between countries. So far, five data-collection waves have been conducted in the framework of the project. The first study was carried out in 26 countries in 1995, while data collection in 2011 was performed in 37 countries. However, results for 2011 are available only for 36 countries, since the Isle of Man collected data but unfortunately did not have the possibility to deliver any results. This summary presents key results from the 2011 survey in the ESPAD countries as well as findings regarding the long-term trends. An initial section gives a short overview of the methodology

The 2011 ESPAD report: substance use among students in 36 European countries.

The overall aim of ESPAD is to collect comparable data on substance use among 15–16 year old students in as many European countries as possible. The most important objectives in the long run are to monitor trends, and to compare trends between countries and groups of countries. In order to do so, the surveys are repeated every four years, with 1995 as the starting point. Results from the fifth data collection wave is presented in The 2011 ESPAD Report and the next data collection is planned to be carried out in 2015