Drug use changes at the individual level : Results from a longitudinal, multisite survey in young europeans frequenting the nightlife scene

Background: Monitoring emerging trends in the increasingly dynamic European drug market is vital; however, information on change at the individual level is scarce. In the current study, we investigated changes in drug use over 12 months in European nightlife attendees. Method: In this longitudinal online survey, changes in substances used, use frequency in continued users, and relative initiation of use at follow-up were assessed for 20 different substances. To take part, participants had to be aged 18–34 years; be from Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, or the UK; and have attended at least 6 electronic music events in the past 12 months at baseline. Of 8,045 volunteers at baseline, 2,897 completed the survey at both time points (36% follow-up rate), in 2017 and 2018. Results: The number of people using ketamine increased by 21% (p < 0.001), and logarithmized frequency of use in those continuing use increased by 15% (p < 0.001; 95% CI: 0.07–0.23). 4-Fluoroamphetamine use decreased by 27% (p < 0.001), and logarithmized frequency of use in continuing users decreased by 15% (p < 0.001, 95% CI: −0.48 to −0.23). The drugs with the greatest proportion of relative initiation at follow-up were synthetic cannabinoids (73%, N = 30), mephedrone (44%, N = 18), alkyl nitrites (42%, N = 147), synthetic dissociatives (41%, N = 15), and prescription opioids (40%, N = 48). Conclusions: In this European nightlife sample, ketamine was found to have the biggest increase in the past 12 months, which occurred alongside an increase in frequency of use in continuing users. The patterns of uptake and discontinuation of alkyl nitrates, novel psychoactive substances, and prescription opioids provide new information that has not been captured by existing cross-sectional surveys. These findings demonstrate the importance of longitudinal assessments of drug use and highlight the dynamic nature of the European drug landscape

Recreatief druggebruik in het uitgaansleven

De beschikbare cijfers over illegale drugs geven een grondig inzicht in het gebruik van illegale middelen vandaag en in opmerkelijke evoluties (periode 1997-2007). Naast cijfers zijn in deze publicatie vier bijdragen van deskundigen opgenomen die ieder een trend in het illegale druggebruik van de laatste tien jaar beschrijven. De volgende thema’s staan daarbij centraal: de samenwerking tussen drughulpverlening en justitie, de schadelijkheid van cannabis, de harm reduction en de risico’s van druggebruik, en het recreatieve druggebruik in het uitgaansleven. Dit boek is een efficiënte informatiebron voor iedereen met belangstelling voor het druggebruik in de maatschappij

Translation and validation of the Dutch version of the health professional education in patient safety survey amongst nursing students in Belgium: A psychometric analysis.

ObjectivesEvaluate the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey (H-PEPSSDutch), an instrument used to assess self-efficacy regarding patient safety competence.MethodsThe H-PEPSSDutch was administered to 610 students in two Belgian nursing schools. We used confirmatory factor analysis, for both classroom and clinical learning, to examine the psychometric properties.ResultsThe analysis of construct validity showed a good fit to the hypothesised models. Cronbach's alpha values ranged from 0.70 to 0.87 for classroom learning and from 0.56 to 0.86 for clinical learning, indicating good reliability. Differentiating between the H-PEPSS constructs in the clinical setting showed to be complicated; hence, discriminant validity was not supported for all dimensions.ConclusionsOverall, this provides us with a reliable instrument to measure self-reported patient safety competence among nursing students. Further research is needed to validate the H-PEPSS as a longitudinal monitoring tool and as a pre-and-post measurement on the impact of interventions related to patient safety in the nursing curricula

Peer education in nightlife settings: good practice standards.

NEWIP’s Good Practice Standards are the result of developing the already existing European Drug Prevention Quality Standards further by consulting harm reduction experts and using relevant real-life experiences. This document will be useful for anyone interested in establishing or improving Peer Education interventions, Safer Nightlife Labels or Charters, Drug Checking or Emerging Media programs, because it presents a helpful overview of practical and useful interventions

Substance Use and Attendance Motives of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Event Attendees: A Survey Study

EDM event attendees are a high-risk population for substance use and associated adverse effects. The aim of this study was to examine substance use at EDM events, focusing on associations between attendance motives and substance use. Sociodemographic characteristics, event specifics, past-year use, and attendance motives were assessed through an online survey. Participants were 1345 Belgian EDM event attendees (69.44% male, Mage = 22.63, SDage = 4.03). Ecstasy/MDMA/Molly (52.28%), other synthetic hallucinogens (53.68%), ketamine (42.13%), amphetamines (40.45%), and alkyl nitrites (poppers) (32.76%) were most frequently used at festivals/outdoor parties/raves. In nightclubs, cocaine (32.29%) was shown to be prevalent as well, while other synthetic hallucinogens (15.79%) were less often consumed. At events with a more private character, cannabis (68.88%) and magic mushrooms (66.44%) were most frequently used. Aside from alcohol (47.76%), substance use in pubs/bars was negligible. Overall enjoyment was demonstrated to be the key attendance motive, which was succeeded by those relating to music and socialization. A wide range of motives proved to be more important to users (e.g., dance, exploration, escapism, excitement, alcohol, drugs) than non-users, while some were associated with the use of particular substances. The prevalence of substance use was shown to be dependent on the specifics of the setting. Moreover, the idea of a three-dimensional classification of the most principal motives for music event attendance was supported. Finally, correlations were estimated between attendance motives and substance use as well as specific substances. Results could enable more tailored approaches in prevention and harm reduction efforts as well as event management strategies