Women's perspectives : the role of alcohol in violence against women

The primary objective of this research was to understand what role women thought alcohol played in their partners' violence to them, from the perspective of women who experienced violence from men partners.It aimed to: 1) question whether women blamed alcohol for their partners' violence, as anecdotal claims suggest, 2) establish whether the women made allowances for their partners' violence because of their partners' drinking, 3) determine the extent to which the women believed alcohol played a key role in such violence, 4) explore any differences in the women's beliefs about alcohol's role in violence when it was directed at others, and when it was directed at them, 5) develop theory, grounded in the women's views, that offers an explanation for alcohol's role in the violence they experienced.In order to meet these aims, in-depth, semi-structured, interviews were conducted with 20 women who suffered violence or abuse from their partners. Due to the subject of this research and the absence of women's views in research on this subject, a grounded theory approach was used, located within a feminist research framework. In addition, the women completed a supplementary checklist relating to their alcohol use and their violent and abusive experiences.The key findings include the women's beliefs that: 1) alcohol has an impact on behaviour, often seen in extremes of behaviour, 2) alcohol's role in violence depends on many factors, 3) alcohol is not responsible for their partners' violence and, 4) they would not forgive their partners more easily if they were violent after drinking. The quantitative data demonstrated a significant increase in physical violence after their partners had been drinking.The main conclusion of this study is that while the women accept that alcohol has disinhibiting effects, they do not blame alcohol for their partners' violence and abuse. They hold their partners responsible for their behaviour regardless of the alcohol consumed

Working with older drinkers

Findings presented in this report demonstrate that older drinkers have different stressors, precipitating factors and risk factors for relapse than younger drinkers. They also face a number of unique barriers to treatment and are more likely to remain ‘hidden’ from services. Despite these challenges, age-specific practices required to meet the needs of older people and draw them into treatment are poorly understood. The purpose of this project was to develop guidelines on what strategies and treatment approaches are likely to work best with older drinkers based on synthesis of relevant literature, insight from alcohol practitioners who specialise in working with older people and the perspectives of older people receiving alcohol treatment. A set of concise guidance documents will be prepared for health and social care workers and alcohol service providers in due course

Substance use and domestic abuse

Pocket guide for social worker

Potential for rabies control through dog vaccination in wildlife-abundant communities of Tanzania

Canine vaccination has been successful in controlling rabies in diverse settings worldwide. However, concerns remain that coverage levels which have previously been sufficient might be insufficient in systems where transmission occurs both between and within populations of domestic dogs and other carnivores. To evaluate the effectiveness of vaccination targeted at domestic dogs when wildlife also contributes to transmission, we applied a next-generation matrix model based on contract tracing data from the Ngorongoro and Serengeti Districts in northwest Tanzania. We calculated corresponding values of R0, and determined, for policy purposes, the probabilities that various annual vaccination targets would control the disease, taking into account the empirical uncertainty in our field data. We found that transition rate estimates and corresponding probabilities of vaccination-based control indicate that rabies transmission in this region is driven by transmission within domestic dogs. Different patterns of rabies transmission between the two districts exist, with wildlife playing a more important part in Ngorongoro and leading to higher recommended coverage levels in that district. Nonetheless, our findings indicate that an annual dog vaccination campaign achieving the WHO-recommended target of 70% will control rabies in both districts with a high level of certainty. Our results support the feasibility of controlling rabies in Tanzania through dog vaccination

Alcohol and older people: learning for practice

This practice guide is for all health and social care practitioners who work with older people aged 50 years and above. It is a brief aid for practice development and draws on a range of sources, including existing research evidence and more recent work evaluating new alcohol projects specifically targeting older people and their families

Parental substance use: supporting school aged children: a BASW practice guide

About this guide Children living with parents who use substances are a group of children who are overlooked in legislation, policy and practice. This guide draws on research that puts children’s voices front and centre. Findings from safeguarding practice reviews consistently show clear system failures and a lack of inter-agency communication where parental substance use is identified as the primary factor in the significant injury or death of a child. Through attention to the child’s narrative, this guide will support social workers in their assessment of risk and the protective factors needed by children to buffer against the negative impact of parental substance use

Providing holistic end-of-life care for people with a history of problem substance use: a mixed methods cohort study of interdisciplinary service provision and integrated care

Harmful use of illicit drugs and/or alcohol is linked to life-limiting illness and complex health and social care needs, but people who use substances and have complex needs do not receive timely palliative care and fail to achieve quality standards for a good death. They and their families often require support from multiple health and social care services which are shown to be poorly integrated and fail to deliver interdisciplinary care. This study aimed to identify the existing barriers and facilitators within and between services in providing this population with a good death. Using a mixed methods approach of survey, focus groups and semi-structured interviews, we explored the perspectives of practitioner and management staff across a range of health and social disciplines and organisations in one combined authority in a large city in the north west of England. Our findings indicate that practitioners want to provide better care for this client group, but face structural, organisational and professional boundary barriers to delivering integrated and shared care. Differences in philosophy of care, piecemeal commissioning and funding of services, and regulatory frameworks for different services, lead to poor and inequitable access to health and social care services. Ways forward for improving care are suggested as bespoke hostel-based accommodation for palliative care for this client group, and specialist link workers who can transcend professional and organisational boundaries to support co-ordination of services and support. We conclude that it is no longer adequate to call for more training, better communication and improved joint working. Complex care at the end of life requires creative and cohesive systemic responses that enable multi-disciplinary practitioners to provide the care they wish to give and enables individuals using substances to get the respect and quality service they deserve

“Keep it to yourself”: supporting solutions for South Asian women: developing models for alcohol support

This study focussed on the lived experiences of South Asian (SA) women who use(d) alcohol (and other drugs), exploring their trajectories into problematic use, and their engagement with support