Use of alcoholic beverages in VA medical centers

BACKGROUND: Benzodiazepines are the first-line choice for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. However, several hospitals continue to provide alcoholic beverages through their formulary for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal. While there are data on the prevalence of this practice in academic medical centers, there are no data on the availability of alcoholic beverages at the formularies of the hospitals operated by the department of Veteran's Affairs. METHODS: In this study, we surveyed the Pharmacy managers at 112 Veterans' Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs) to ascertain the availability of alcohol on the VAMC formularies, and presence or lack of a policy on the use of alcoholic beverages in their VA Medical Center. RESULTS: Of the pharmacy directors contacted, 81 responded. 8 did not allow their use, while 20 allowed their use. There was a lack of a consistent policy across the VA medical centers on availability and use of alcoholic beverages for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. CONCLUSION: There is lack of uniform policy on the availability of alcoholic beverages across the VAMCs, which may create potential problems with difference in the standards of care

Effectiveness of a community-based osteoporosis education and self-management course: a wait list controlled trial

Summary : Osteoporosis is an increasing burden on individuals and health resources. The Osteoporosis Prevention and Self-Management Course (OPSMC) was designed to assist individuals to prevent and manage osteoporosis; however, it had not been evaluated in an Australian setting. This randomised controlled trial showed that the course increased osteoporosis knowledge.Introduction and hypothesis : Osteoporosis is a major and growing public health concern. An OPSMC was designed to provide individuals with information and skills to prevent or manage osteoporosis, but its effectiveness has not previously been evaluated. This study aimed to determine whether OPSMC attendance improved osteoporosis knowledge, self-efficacy, self-management skills or behaviour.Materials and methods : Using a wait list randomised controlled trial design, 198 people (92% female) recruited from the community and aged over 40 (mean age&thinsp;=&thinsp;63) were randomised into control (n&thinsp;=&thinsp;95) and intervention (n&thinsp;=&thinsp;103) groups. The OPSMC consists of four weekly sessions which run for 2 h and are led by two facilitators. The primary outcome were osteoporosis knowledge, health-directed behaviour, self-monitoring and insight and self-efficacy.Results : The groups were comparable at baseline. At 6-week follow-up, the intervention group showed a significant increase in osteoporosis knowledge compared with the control group; mean change 3.5 (p&thinsp;&lt;&thinsp;0.001) on a measure of 0&ndash;20. The intervention group also demonstrated a larger increase in health-directed behaviour, mean change 0.16 (p&thinsp;&lt;&thinsp;0.05), on a measure of 0&ndash;6.Conclusion : The results indicate that the OPSMC is an effective intervention for improving understanding of osteoporosis and some aspects of behaviour in the short term.<br /