168 research outputs found
Citizens who inject drugs: the 'Fitpack' study
Most injecting drug users have never been in drug treatment yet much research is done on samples with high treatment rates drawn from agency and peer recruited populations. This study accessed drug injectors with little or no prior drug treatment, described their characteristics, BBVI risk behaviours and feedback on services. Its results challenge some stereotypes about citizens who inject drugs. A sample of 511 'hidden' drug injectors, of whom only 28.7% had any specialist drug treatment agency contact, completed a questionnaire which was distributed with 'Fitpack' needle packs sold through community pharmacies in WA. The mean age of respondents was 26.2 years, 43.4% were women, 44.3% were living with their sexual partner, 41.7% were parents, and 46.4% were employed, mostly in full time work. In the previous month 61.2% had injected less frequently than daily. The study accessed a diverse group of drug injectors not typically seen in agency and peer recruited research. They provided useful feedback about how harm reduction strategies among injectors can be improved. However, they also reported higher rates of injecting and sharing than previously found in traditionally recruited samples of injectors which suggests there is no room for complacency regarding the potential for BBVI transmission in this grou
Friends matter but so does their substance use: The impact of social networks on substance use, offending and wellbeing among young people attending specialist alcohol and drug treatment services
Aims: The current study assesses the impact of youth drug treatment on substance use, offending and wellbeing in a sample of young people recruited from specialist youth alcohol and drug treatment. The paper examines the impact of treatment engagement on the size and substance use profile of the young person's social network and hypothesises that the best treatment outcomes are associated with maintaining the size of the young person's social network but changing its composition to reduce the representation of substance use in social networks. Methods: A cohort study of 112 young people (aged 16â21) engaged in specialist youth alcohol and drug treatment services in Victoria, Australia, were recruited at the beginning of treatment and re-interviewed six months later using a structured questionnaire. Findings: There were improvements in substance use, social functioning, mental health and life satisfaction from baseline to follow-up. While network size was associated with mental health and quality of life markers, only having a lower proportion of substance users in the social network was associated with lower substance use and offending at follow-up. Conclusions: Social networks are a key component of wellbeing in adolescence. This study suggests that through independent analysis of network size and network composition, both the size and the composition of social networks have an important role to play in developing interventions for adolescent substance users that will sustain behaviour changes achieved in specialist treatment
What's in a virus? Folk understandings of hepatitis C infection and infectiousness among injecting drug users in Kings Cross, Sydney
BACKGROUND: To explore folk understandings of blood borne virus infection and infectiousness among injecting drug users in Kings Cross, Sydney. METHODS: Observational fieldwork was conducted in Kings Cross over a four month period. In-depth interviews with 24 current injectors and 4 key informants recruited from King Cross were undertaken. RESULTS: Hepatitis C (HCV) generated different meanings from HIV. HIV was considered "the dreaded" and generated fear of infection and dire disease progression. Whereas HCV was considered non-desirable but less threatening than HIV. The risks of transmitting HCV through sharing injecting paraphernalia was poorly understood. Some believed HCV infection was linked to poor hygiene and dirty water. Jaundice was mistakenly thought to indicate HCV infection and was used to gauge infectiousness. Many were confused about their current hepatitis C serostatus. Some participants thought they had a "dormant antibody" or that they had a "mild case" of infection. Participants were unsure what this meant for their own health or for their potential to infect others. CONCLUSION: Participants displayed confusion about transmission risks for hepatitis C, conflating blood awareness and hygiene health promotion messages. Participants' reliance on the symptom of jaundice to gauge serostatus places them at risk of transmitting and contracting HCV. Participants were confused about what a positive HCV diagnosis meant for their own health and their ability to infect others. Education is needed to debunk misconceptions about jaundice and clarify medical terms such as 'antibody' at the time of diagnosis. Further clarification of messages about injecting hygiene and blood awareness are also required
Evaluation of Three Primary Teachersâ Approaches to Teaching Scientific Concepts in Persuasive Ways
The research set out in this paper seeks to develop pedagogical knowledge regarding how persuasive teaching approaches can be developed in primary science classrooms. To achieve this, the paper examines three case studies in which the teachers have been charged to develop and implement teaching strategies designed to persuade their children of the usefulness and validity of target scientific concepts. The analysis probes the teachersâ choice of contexts and patterns of discourse using criteria drawn from the sociocultural literature. Outcomes of the study exemplify how the teachersâ choices of learning contexts fail to emphasise the functionality of the target concepts and as a consequence scant rewards are provided for the children to participate actively in conceptually rich discourse. The final part of the paper explores how the development of what the author calls theme-specific plots, could be used to help teachers to stage teaching and learning performances which emphasise the functionality of specific explanatory models
Age-related differences in patterns of criminal activity among a large sample of polydrug injectors in Australia
Background: The relationship between age and criminal activity among drug-using populations is poorly understood. Methods: Data from 10 years of repeat cross-sectional surveys of sentinel samples of regular people who inject drugs (PWID) across Australia (n=5844) were used to explore the relationship between age and past-month drug dealing, property crime and violent crime, and past-year arrest. Descriptive statistics were used to explore the prevalence and frequency of each outcome. The relationship between age and each outcome was measured using multivariable Poisson regression with robust error variance. Results: After adjusting for confounding factors, each 5-year increase in age was associated with significant reductions in drug dealing (adjusted incidence rate ratio [AIRR]: 0.90, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.87â0.94), property crime (AIRR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.82â0.89) and violent crime (AIRR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.70â0.85). Older participants were also significantly less likely to report being arrested in the past 12 months (AIRR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.88â0.93). Conclusions: Younger PWID are more heavily involved in criminal activity compared with their older counterparts. This study highlights the need for early intervention programmes to prevent offending behaviour becoming entrenched, as well as continued efforts to redirect young PWID away from the criminal justice system and into treatment and education programmes
Health promotion: results of focus groups with African-American men
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jomh.2010.11.00
The "Clubs against Drugs" program in Stockholm, Sweden: two cross-sectional surveys examining drug use among staff at licensed premises
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of this study is to examine self-reported drug use among staff at licensed premises, types of drugs used, attitudes towards drugs, and observed drug use among guests. Results are presented from two measurement points (in 2001 and 2007/08). This study was carried out within the framework of the "Clubs against Drugs" program, which is a community-based multi-component intervention targeting licensed premises in Stockholm, Sweden.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted, the first in 2001 and the second in 2007/08. Staff at licensed premises attending server training were asked to participate in the anonymous survey. A survey was administered in a classroom setting and consisted of four sections: 1) demographics, 2) respondents' own drug use experience, 3) respondents' attitudes towards drug use, and 4) observed drug use among guests at licensed premises.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Data were collected from 446 staff in 2001 and 677 staff in 2007/08. The four most commonly used drugs among staff were cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine, and ecstasy. The highest rates of drug use were reported by staff in the two youngest age groups, i.e., those younger than 25 and those between the ages of 25 and 29. In 2007/08 staff reported significantly lower rates of drug use than staff in 2001. Last year drug use for the sample in 2007/08 was 19% compared to 27% for the 2001 sample. While drug-using staff compared to non drug-using staff reported more observations of drug use among guests, they were less inclined to intervene. Overall, staff reported restrictive attitudes towards drugs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The prevalence of life-time and last year drug use among staff at licensed premises is high compared to the general population in Sweden. Lower rates of self-reported drug use among staff were reported in 2007/08. The results of this study highlight that staff at licensed premises represent an important target population in club drug prevention programs.</p
"Nanohybrids" based on pH-responsive hydrogels and inorganic nanoparticles for drug delivery and sensor applications.
Allyl-PEG capped inorganic NPs, including magnetic iron oxide (IONPs), fluorescent CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs), and metallic gold (AuNPs of 5 and 10 nm) both individually and in combination, were covalently attached to pH-responsive poly(2-vinylpyridine-co-divinylbenzene) nanogels via a facile and robust one-step surfactant-free emulsion polymerization procedure. Control of the NPs associated to the nanogels was achieved by the late injection of the NPs to the polymerization solution at a stage when just polymeric radicals were present. Remarkably, by varying the total amount of NPs injected, the swelling behavior could be affected. Furthermore, the magnetic response as well as the optical features of the nanogels containing either IONPs or QDs could be modified. In addition, a radical quenching in case of gold nanoparticles was observed, thus affecting the final nanogel geometry
A new approach to assessing the health benefit from obesity interventions in children and adolescents: the assessing cost-effectiveness in obesity project
OBJECTIVE: To report on a new modelling approach developed for the assessing cost-effectiveness in obesity (ACE-Obesity) project and the likely population health benefit and strength of evidence for 13 potential obesity prevention interventions in children and adolescents in Australia. METHODS: We used the best available evidence, including evidence from non-traditional epidemiological study designs, to determine the health benefits as body mass index (BMI) units saved and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) saved. We developed new methods to model the impact of behaviours on BMI post-intervention where this was not measured and the impacts on DALYs over the child\u27s lifetime (on the assumption that changes in BMI were maintained into adulthood). A working group of stakeholders provided input into decisions on the selection of interventions, the assumptions for modelling and the strength of the evidence. RESULTS: The likely health benefit varied considerably, as did the strength of the evidence from which that health benefit was calculated. The greatest health benefit is likely to be achieved by the \u27Reduction of TV advertising of high fat and/or high sugar foods and drinks to children\u27, \u27Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding\u27 and the \u27multi-faceted school-based programme with an active physical education component\u27 interventions. CONCLUSIONS: The use of consistent methods and common health outcome measures enables valid comparison of the potential impact of interventions, but comparisons must take into account the strength of the evidence used. Other considerations, including cost-effectiveness and acceptability to stakeholders, will be presented in future ACE-Obesity papers. Information gaps identified include the need for new and more effective initiatives for the prevention of overweight and obesity and for better evaluations of public health interventions
Predictors of problem drinking in adolescence and young adulthood. A longitudinal twin-family study
We examined drinking behavior of parents, siblings, and friends of twins as predictors of adolescent and young adult problem drinking over a period of 2 and a period of 7 years. Data of 12 to 30-year-old twins and their family members from the Netherlands Twin Register were analyzed. Problem drinking in twins was assessed in 1995 and 2000 and was defined based on the CAGE and amount of drinking. Data on alcohol use of parents, siblings and friends were collected in 1993. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine the short-term (1993-1995; n = 2,994) and the long-term longitudinal predictors (1993-2000; n = 1,796) of problem drinking. Age, sex and own alcohol use in 1993 explained 25% of the variance in adolescent and young adult problem drinking. Moreover, adolescents and young adults with fathers who drank frequently and with a large numbers of drinking friends, were at the highest risk for problem drinking 2 years later. Over a period of 7 years the number of drinking friends was no longer a risk factor, but few times a week or daily alcohol use of fathers remained a risk factor for later problem drinking. Drinking behavior of mother and siblings did not substantially predict problem drinking. Sex and age did not moderate these effect
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