"But no one told me it’s okay to not drink": a qualitative study of young people who drink little or no alcohol

Young people’s drinking is a matter of social, media and political concern and the focus of much policy activity within the UK. Little consideration has been given to the fact that some young people choose to drink little or not all and our knowledge and understanding of their choices and how they manage not drinking is limited. Nor has much attention been paid to the possibility that the insights of young light and non-drinkers could be useful when thinking about how to change the prevailing drinking culture, but if we are to gauge and engage with the current culture of consumption then we need to understand all parts of it (Pattenden et al., 2008). This qualitative study of young people (aged 16-25) who drink little or no alcohol aimed to further understanding of their lives and choices. The results highlight that choosing not to drink or drink lightly is a positive choice made for diverse reasons with the strongest messages and influences coming from real life observations. Young people develop strategies to manage not drinking or drinking lightly. Alcohol education messages need to present not drinking as a valid option to young people, parents and society more broadly

Ethnicity and alcohol: a review of the UK literature

This literature review draws together recorded drinking patterns among minority ethnic groups in the UK over the last 15 years and considers the evidence for service provision and support. A recommendation in implementing the Government’s alcohol strategy, Safe. Sensible. Social. is to assess the need for and develop provision for black and minority ethnic groups. This need is heightened by the growing minority ethnic population and changes in consumption levels that may emerge over generations. The review explores differences in drinking patterns by ethnicity and the cultural and social contexts around which the use of alcohol is established and maintained. This review: • describes drinking levels as reported in national surveys and local research; • considers processes and infl uences that help to explain why drinking rates among ethnic groups in a new country may change over time; • examines help-seeking, support and service provision for minority ethnic groups; • examines the extent to which services are equipped to respond to the needs of minority ethnic groups

The role of training in IBA implementation beyond primary health care settings in the UK

There has been a considerable drive to encourage a wide range of professional groups to incorporate alcohol screening (or identification) and brief advice (IBA) into their everyday practice. This article aims to examine the role of training in promoting IBA delivery in contexts outside primary care and other health settings. The data are drawn mainly from a structured online survey supplemented by illustrative material from nine qualitative interviews and insights from an expert workshop. Findings support the results from other research that issues relating to role relevance and role security continue to act as barriers to professional change. Furthermore, issues of organisational commitment and organisational barriers are insufficiently addressed in strategy to promote wider use of IBA. The article concludes that development of appropriate training for alcohol IBA needs to take account of the role of IBA within a complex interactive system of related services and help seeking pathways and consider how training can contribute to changing both professional attitudes and behaviours and organisational approaches to implementing and sustaining IBA in everyday professional practice

Delivering alcohol IBA: is there a case for mainstreaming? Insights from an expert workshop and from the published literature

Identification and brief advice (IBA) has been widely advocated as a cost effective intervention to address problem drinking. Evidence for the effectiveness of IBA comes largely from primary care studies. Research in pharmacies, educational settings and criminal justice settings has indicated the possibilities for successful delivery of IBA but there is little solid evidence to support mainstreaming IBA beyond core medical facilities. Furthermore, even in primary health care settings there are continuing difficulties around implementing IBA (see: Thom et al., 2014) and continuing debate about the research findings (Heather, 2014). A number of key questions around the drive towards wider implementation of IBA were debated at an expert workshop in Birmingham in November 2014. The questions debated were: 1. What are the challenges and barriers to broadening the contexts in which alcohol IBA is delivered? 2. How can these challenges and barriers be addressed? 3. Should delivery of alcohol IBA in wider contexts (mainstreaming) be a policy goal? This monograph provides insights from this expert workshop and from the published literature on theses questions

Delivering alcohol identification and brief advice (IBA) in housing settings: a step too far or opening doors?

Within the UK, there is a drive to encourage the delivery of alcohol screening (or identification) and brief advice (IBA) in a range of contexts beyond primary care and hospitals where the evidence is strongest. However, the evidence base for effectiveness in non-health contexts is not currently established. This paper considers the case of housing provided by social landlords, drawing on two research studies which were conducted concurrently. One study examined the feasibility of delivering alcohol IBA in housing settings and the other the role of training in delivering IBA in non-health contexts including housing. This paper draws mainly on the qualitative data collected for both studies to examine the appropriateness and feasibility of delivering IBA in a range of social housing settings by the housing workforce. Findings suggest that while it is feasible to deliver IBA in housing settings, there are similar challenges and barriers to those already identified in relation to primary care. These include issues around role inadequacy, role legitimacy and the lack of support to work with people with alcohol problems. Results indicate that the potential may lie in focusing training efforts on specific roles to deliver IBA rather than it being expected of all staff

A positive choice: young people who drink little or no alcohol

This study examined the lives and choices of young people (aged 16-25) living in the UK who drink little or no alcohol. Current policy is directed at young people who drink alcohol with little attention paid to the insights of those who drink lightly or not at all. The influences that shape young people’s decisions and how their choices and patterns of consumption affect their lives were explored through interviews. The report: • examines current drinking patterns and identifies five ‘drinking types’; • highlights that choosing not to drink alcohol or to drink lightly is a commonplace and positive choice; • explores the influences and experiences that led young people to their choices and identifies three ‘narratives’ encapsulating their journeys; • considers the strategies and responses young people employ to manage not drinking or drinking lightly; and • critically examines the widely held assumption that drinking is part of‘growing up’ and discusses how ‘not drinking’ could be supported as a valid choice

Delivering information and brief advice on alcohol (IBA) in social work and social care settings: an exploratory study

Social workers and practitioners working in social care are potentially key players in the prevention of alcohol-related harm and harm reduction for people using services and their carers. This requires attention to workforce development alongside the selection of appropriate tools to support prevention strategies. We report findings from a UK exploratory study into the potential of using Identification and Brief Advice (IBA) as a tool for screening and prevention in social work and social care settings. Thirty-six social workers and social care practitioners attended one of two training workshops on IBA in the South East of England. Pre and post-workshop surveys (n = 35 and n = 20, respectively) and four post-workshop focus groups (n = 36) were conducted with participants to explore the application of IBA taking into account the paradigmatic shift towards prevention and holistic approaches indicated in recent UK legislation and policy. Four themes emerged from the findings: (1) perceptions of the social work/social care role in responding to alcohol problems, (2) ethical concerns, (3) time conflicts and problems of delivering IBA and (4) the role of training. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of motivational techniques and tools that social workers can use to promote preventative practise for alcohol-related harm. Different strategies are required to engage and support those working in social care to increase proactive engagement with problematic alcohol use in everyday practise settings

A continuous model for microtubule dynamics with catastrophe, rescue and nucleation processes

Microtubules are a major component of the cytoskeleton distinguished by highly dynamic behavior both in vitro and in vivo. We propose a general mathematical model that accounts for the growth, catastrophe, rescue and nucleation processes in the polymerization of microtubules from tubulin dimers. Our model is an extension of various mathematical models developed earlier formulated in order to capture and unify the various aspects of tubulin polymerization including the dynamic instability, growth of microtubules to saturation, time-localized periods of nucleation and depolymerization as well as synchronized oscillations exhibited by microtubules under various experimental conditions. Our model, while attempting to use a minimal number of adjustable parameters, covers a broad range of behaviors and has predictive features discussed in the paper. We have analyzed the resultant behaviors of the microtubules changing each of the parameter values at a time and observing the emergence of various dynamical regimes.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figure