April PD

You can add to the professional development post by commenting below or emailing the library.

Read – professional reading

Available from the library database.

Chiou, W., & Wu, W. (2017). Episodic future thinking involving the nonsmoking self can induce lower discounting and cigarette consumption. Journal Of Studies On Alcohol And Drugs, 78(1), 106-112.
 Gilchrist, E. A., Ireland, L., Forsyth, A., Godwin, J., & Laxton, T. (2017). Alcohol use, alcohol‐related aggression and intimate partner abuse: A cross‐sectional survey of convicted versus general population men in Scotland. Drug And Alcohol Review, 36(1), 20-23.
Knight, A., Shakeshaft, A., Havard, A., Maple, M., Foley, C., & Shakeshaft, B. (2017). The quality and effectiveness of interventions that target multiple risk factors among young people: a systematic review. Australian And New Zealand Journal Of Public Health, 41(1), 54-60.
Thompson, K., Davis-MacNevin, P., Teehan, M., & Stewart, S. (2017). The association between secondhand harms from alcohol and mental health outcomes among postsecondary students. Journal Of Studies On Alcohol And Drugs, 78(1), 70-78.

Open Access

Frei, M.Y., Wodak, A.d. (2017). Beyond ice: rethinking Australia's approach to illicit drugs. Medical Journal of Australia. doi:10.5694/mja16.00108

Ross, S. (2017). Chronic pain, mental health and substance use disorders: how can we manage this triad in our healthcare system and in our communities?. Columbia Medical Review, 1(1).

Uhlhaas, P. J., Gajwani, R., Gross, J., Gumley, A. I., Lawrie, S. M., & Schwannauer, M. (2017). The Youth Mental Health Risk and Resilience Study (YouR-Study). BMC psychiatry, 17(1), 43.

Open access online journal

 Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation

Write - presentations and papers

AACBT 38TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Call for Abstracts!
The 2017 Committee are excited to announce the call for abstracts for the 38th National Conference of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (AACBT).  The conference is to take place from Thursday 26 October – Saturday 28 October, at the Crown Plaza Coogee Beach Hotel, Coogee, Sydney, NSW. ‘Innovations in Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies across the Lifespan’ is this year’s conference theme.  Extending the very best traditions of previous Conferences, we plan to represent the cutting edge of evidence-based practice and science in both cognitive and behavioural therapies, as well as third wave approaches.  We are particularly pleased to offer exciting invited speakers with expertise across the lifespan from children to older adults

Attend – informal learning sessions, journal club, seminar series

Insight Queensland

Free training sessions at Biala Community Health Centre, 270 Roma, Street, Brisbane:
AOD Clinical Assessment: This interactive workshop introduces participants to clinical assessment for alcohol and other drug problems.
18/04/2017, 09:00-16:00
Quitting Cannabis, 1-6 Sessions: This workshop was developed by the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC). It is specifically designed for clinicians who treat people experiencing problematic cannabis use. The workshop covers a comprehensive, evidence-based intervention which the clinician may deliver over 1 – 6 sessions.
27/04/2017, 09:00-15:00
For more details and to register, click here

QCOSS: NDIS Workforce Forum

Metro Hotel Ipswich International Karalee Room 43 South Street, Ipswich

Cost: Free

Date: 05/04/2017, 10:00-14:00

This forum will bring a broad range of key stakeholders together to hear, explore and share insights and strategies to ensure that the Ipswich NDIS region (Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Somerset LGAs) has the right NDIS workforce, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time to resource the full implementation of the NDIS.

For more details and to register click here

Journal club (available to Healthy Options workers only) Internal professional development session held in the Annerley boardroom and via Skype meeting. Date: TBC

Attend – conferences 

Australian  and New Zealand Addiction Conference, 15-17 May 2017,

Mantra on View Hotel, Gold Coast.
Topics include:
Trauma informed counselling; navigating the system; training and support of AOD workers; issues within rural and remote communities; the lived experience and their supporters; emerging trends; cultural safety and sensitivity when working with specific population groups.
Cost from $590-$990
More details available here

Listen – podcasts, webinars

National Comorbidity Guidelines: An evidence-based resource for drug and alcohol workers.
This free webinar is offered by the NHRMC Centre of Research Excellence in Mental Health and Substance Use.
Date: 27/04/2017, 11:00.
For more details and to register click here
Previous webinars can be accessed on their Vimeo channel

Assessed learning – short courses, certificates, diplomas, bachelors, post-grad

Confronting Gender Based Violence: Global Lessons for Healthcare Workers
This course introduces participants from the healthcare sector to gender based violence (GBV), including global epidemiology of GBV; health outcomes; seminal research; and clinical best practices for GBV prevention, support, and management. It is a free online course over 4 weeks and is suitable for community health workers, social workers and counsellors. It is run by John Hopkins University and starts on 10/04/2017.

International Overdose Awareness Day

International Overdose Awareness Day is approaching on Wednesday 31^st August

IOD is a global event held each year to raise awareness of overdose and reduce stigma of drug related death.  It also acknowledges the grief felt by families and friends remembering those who have met with death or permanent injury as a result of drug overdose.

IOD aims to spread the message that the tragedy of overdose death is preventable.

Wear some Silver to show your support.

The IOD website has some excellent resources available for your information and for use with clients including:

• Overdose basics – including general stats and information on depressant, stimulant and alcohol overdose
• Printable factsheets on how overdose presents and how to respond to suspected overdose

                Fact Sheet – Alcohol

                Fact Sheet – Depressants

                Fact Sheet – Opioids

                Fact Sheet – Psychoactive Substances

                Fact Sheet – Stimulants

                Fact Sheet – Crystal Methamphetamine

• Access to the Overdose Aware app

You can also find out about the events taking place in your city here

www.overdoseday.com/get-involved/eventsfeed

 

* In an emergency go to the nearest hospital Emergency Department or call an Ambulance (dial 000)

July PD and toolkit additions

Some of the professional development opportunities available in July.  Comment below or email the library if you would like to add anything.

Toolkit additions

Dovetail’s Working with Families and Significant Others

The newest addition to Dovetail’s excellent “Youth alcohol and drug good practice guide” series

From Dovetail, “This guide aims to outline a broad range of approaches and strategies that could be a part of a family responsive approach to working with young people, and to address some of the specific barriers to implementing this approach in practice.”

http://www.dovetail.org.au/media/122115/gpgv.digital.pdf

 

Establishing the Connection: Guidelines for the practitioners and clinicians in the sexual assault and alcohol and other drug sectors

These guidelines have been developed to build the capacity of workers in the sexual assault and alcohol and other drug (AOD) sectors in Victoria to support shared clients who experience both sexual assault trauma and substance use issues.

https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/establishing-the-connection-guidelines.pdf

 

Write – presentations and papers

Australian Long-term Unemployment Conference

Authors or organisations interested in submitting a paper or poster at the 3rd Australian Long-Term Unemployment Conference are invited to submit an abstract of no more than 300 words outlining the aims, contents and conclusions of their paper or presentation.

All proposals will be reviewed by the program committee. Presentations will be selected to provide a program that offers a comprehensive and diverse treatment of issues related to the conference theme. Authors will be notified by e-mail of the outcome of their abstract submission.

Submissions close: 11^th August

http://longtermunemployment.org.au/abstract-submission/

 

Read – professional reading

Jääskeläinen, M., Holmila, M., Notkola, I. -L., and Raitasalo, K. (2016) Mental disorders and harmful substance use in children of substance abusing parents: A longitudinal register-based study on a complete birth cohort born in 1991. Drug and Alcohol Review

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dar.12417/abstract?campaign=wolearlyview

 

Kilcullen, M., Swinbourne, A. and Cadet-James, Y. (2016), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Well-Being: Implications for a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Framework. Australian Psychologist.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ap.12159/abstract?campaign=wolearlyview

 

Attend – informal learning sessions, journal club, seminar series

Journal club (available to Healthy Options workers only)

Internal professional development session held in the Annerley boardroom and via Skype meeting.

July’s journal club will be presented by the CAFSS Qld team.

Date: 22^nd July, 12.30pm AEST

 

COPMI e-learning courses

The Children of Parents with a Mental Illness (COPMI) national initiative offer interactive eLearning courses to professionals in mental health and allied health areas who are in key positions where they can assist parents who have a mental illness, their children and families.  Courses are free, online and self-paced  

Courses include:

Child Aware practice: This introductory course encourages professionals to understand and talk with parents about the impact of adult problems on children and the role of parents in supporting the safety, wellbeing and development of children. These things should be considered in all service settings - whether you're working with adults, children or families.

Keeping families and children in mind: An introductory course supports learners to understand the impact of parental mental illness on the family unit and to recognise the benefits of a family-sensitive approach to working with families where a parent has a mental illness.

Supporting infants and toddlers: This introductory course helps participants to understand the impact of mental illness on the family through the antenatal period. It assists the learner to grasp attachment and principles of sensitive communication with parents regarding the needs of their children.

Let’s talk about children: Provides training in a brief, evidence-based method that is designed to support mental health professionals to talk with parents who experience mental illness about parenting and their child’s needs.

Family focus: Provides training in an evidence-based family intervention designed to promote family communication and problem solving around the experience of parental mental illness.

Child Aware supervision: Extends the 'Child Aware practice' course and provides training for team leaders and supervisors in strategies that they can apply to promote child and family-sensitive practices in their service.

Duration: 90mins – 3hr/course

http://www.copmi.net.au/professionals-organisations/how-can-i-help/professional-development/elearning-courses

 

Listen – podcasts, webinars

Early intervention and support for people who experience workplace bullying - Webinar

Mental Health Professionals’ Network presents this webinar on how collaborative mental health care and early intervention may help support people who are experiencing bullying in the workplace.

When: 7.15-8.30pm, 27^th July (Registration before the 26^th)

https://www.mhpn.org.au/UpcomingWebinars

New(ish) tools for AOD workers

Some new tools that may be of use to AOD workers

Slots and shots: Gambling resources for AOD workers
Launched in November last year, Slots and Shots is a much needed suite of gambling resource for alcohol and other drug workers. It contains a tri-fold client handout, waiting room poster, a report, and a wallet sized quick reference reminder for clinicians.
The resource was developed to help AOD workers address the complex problems often experienced by their clients, and highlights the similarities between problem gambling and substance misuse.
Many AOD clients present with co-occurring substance and gambling problems. For every client with a serious gambling problem, 5 to 10 other people are affected. As such, there is a pressing need to strengthen AOD workers’ skills and understanding of gambling, so they may respond appropriately to client needs and improve client outcomes.
NCETA are currently working on an online training package for clinicians due for roll out 2017.
http://nceta.flinders.edu.au/?cID=647


ReachOut - The Toolbox
ReachOut have collected a range of apps for health and wellbeing that have been endorsed by professionals and reviewed by under 25y/o (their target group).
Apps are sorted into catagories including:

• Health and Fitness
• Being independent
• Relationships and helping others
• Thoughts and emotions
• Dealing with tough times

http://au.reachout.com/sites/thetoolbox

Buckinghamshire Mephedrone Handbook 
This pack is intended as a guide for drug workers and other professionals working with mephedrone (Mcat, Meph, Meow Meow) users. It also includes a section that focuses on novel psychoactive substances (NPS), the chemical families these compounds belong to, and the appropriate treatment response that could be tailored for people who experience problems with these drugs.  This handbook has been published in the UK, but is still applicable to Australia.
http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/media/3523884/Bucks-Mephedrone-Handbook.pdf


Working with substance use: Manchester Metropolitan University
A UK website providing online resources for health and social care professionals. The aim is to provide you with a basic understanding of a number of substance-related topics to inform and develop your practice.  They include presentations, film clips from experts (both service users and professionals), animations, individual and group exercises, and practice scenarios to help apply your learning. They also offer suggestions for future study and personal development.
These resources can be explored in one go or dipped into for information on specific areas. They can be used for individual or group self-study and continuing professional development, and they can be used in teaching or learning by academics and trainers.
Resources are included for working with significant others, working with comorbidity, approaches for working with substance use, assessment tools, and more.
https://workingwithsubstanceuse.wordpress.com/

New LGBTIQ website, checking drug interactions and more...

A few new (and not so new) online resources for you to be aware of

*****

 

Launched recently, TouchBase is a website designed to provide information and resources to members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Trans, Intersex and Queer/Questioning community on substance use, mental health and sexual health.  TouchBase is a collaboration between the Victorian AIDS Council, the Australian Drug Foundation, and the Australian Federation of AIDS Councils.  There is a good range of information presented in a clear and easy to navigate format.  Great information on the effect of substances on people using HIV medication or those who are taking some form of hormone therapy.

http://touchbase.org.au/

*****

 The Penington Institute have just released two new video resources about the use of Naloxone to prevent overdose.  The videos are aimed at people using substances, their friends and family, as well as frontline workers.

http://www.penington.org.au/overdose-prevention-resources/

                                                                            *****

Penington Institute also launched the mobile optimised version of its COPE website. COPE (Community Overdose Prevention and Education) is a community-based opioid overdose prevention initiative run by Penington Institute. The COPE mobile site provides access to critical life-saving information to doctors, paramedics, pharmacists, and other health workers, as well as people at risk of overdose.

http://www.copeaustralia.com.au/


                                                                           *****

A framework for working safely and effectively with men who perpetrate intimate partner violence in substance use treatment settings is a new set of guidelines released by Kings College. Although some of the material has a UK focus, most of the information is applicable to an Australian setting.

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/depts/addictions/research/drugs/Capabilities-Framework-Final.pdf


                                                                          *****

Knowledge Circle, is a new resource to support workers in their efforts to help keep Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children safe and happy in their communities. This resource includes practice profiles, discussion boards and webinars

https://www2.aifs.gov.au/cfca/knowledgecircle

 

                                                                          *****
And finally,

Looking for a resource for drug interactions?  Try Drug Interactions Checker.  It's quite straight forward to use and the information provided is clear and written for laypersons (i.e. not medical jargon).  Naturally this resource comes with a disclaimer around not being able to predict all drug interactions and that it should be used as a guide only.  This is particularly relevant to illicit substances as the actual content of the substance may vary significantly.

 

http://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.php

 

New resources for your AOD toolkit

These are some of the great new resources being released both nationally and internationally for clinicians working in alcohol and other drugs.

YouthAOD Toolbox

http://youthaodtoolbox.org.au/

Previously only available if you registered, this online resource from the Youth Support and Advocacy Service is now accessible to all.

The toolbox includes outlines of frameworks, theories, therapeutic models, and training modules.


Youth & Health Worker Support Kit

http://issuu.com/hepatitisnsw/docs/youthworkerkit

The "Youth and health worker support kit: working with young people and viral hepatitis - Risks, consequences and choices of body art and drug use" online brochure has been produced by Hepatitis NSW. It has a range of session plans, strategy worksheets and activities to use when discussing viral hepatitis.


Medication for the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder: Pocket Guide

http://store.samhsa.gov/product/SMA15-4907POCKETGUID?WT.mc_id=EB_20151102_PocketGuide

Produced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, in the US, this pocketbook outlines some of the medications used for alcohol use.


Medication assisted treatment of opioid dependence

The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) have released two new resources:

Medication assisted treatment of opioid dependence: Your questions answered 

https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/ndarc/resources/MATOD%20Your%20Questions%20Answered.pdf

Medication assisted treatment of opioid dependence: A review of the evidence

https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/resource/medication-assisted-treatment-opioid-dependence-review-evidence
 

 

2015 EDRS and IDRS report findings

About the IDRS and EDRS

The Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) and the Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS) are two studies conducted by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC).  These studies output annual reports on illicit drug use, both nationally and by state.

Participants in the research are currently using substances, i.e. the study does not look at drug use in the general population.   Data are gathered from interviews with people currently using drugs, key experts in the field, and professionals who have regular contact with people who inject drugs (IDRS) or regular psychostimulant users (EDRS) through their work.


IDRS

Heroin remains the most commonly used drug amongst people who inject drugs.  The proportion of respondents using heroin remained stable, but the frequency of use had increased.  The drug is reportedly very easy to obtain and is of low purity.

Use of cocaine remained stable and use of cannabis was high, but stable. 

Sharing injection equipment was common, with 6% of respondents having borrowed a needle and 11% having lent a needle.  Re-use of own needle was common (41%).

Over half of the sample reported a mental health problem during the previous 6 months.  Most commonly reported was depression, followed by anxiety


EDRS

Although decreasing over the last 12 years, ecstasy remains the most commonly reported drug of choice, closely followed by cannabis, which has increased over the last 12 years.  There is a reported decrease in use of ecstasy pills and increase in use of ecstasy/MDMA crystals. 

There was a significant increase in regular psychostimulant users reporting using other drugs with ecstasy (89%).  Reported use of any methamphetamine has significantly decreased with powder and base use significantly decreasing and crystal use remaining stable.

In terms of other drug use, there has been a significant increase in reported use of tobacco and amyl nitrate.


...and Ice

Crystal methamphetamine use is up (6%) amongst people who inject drugs (PWID), such that 67% of PWID used Ice in the previous 6 months.  Crystal methamphetamine use is stable amongst regular psychostimulant users at around 19%.

Users of crystal methamphetamine report the drug is easily obtained and the purity is high.

Harms related to methamphetamine use are high with a dramatic increase in hospital presentations and people seeking treatment.  There has also been an increase in methamphetamine related deaths.

Mental Health Week

 As part Mental As week, 4 – 11 October 2015, the ABC is providing programs on ABC TV and Radio National as well as links to various articles and support services from their home page

http://www.abc.net.au/mentalas/ 

 

Spend some time doing a relaxation activity.  These guided exercises from the University of Sydney are quite good and include breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic relaxation and visualisation. 

by Jerome

AOD treatment services 2013-14

Last week the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services 2013-14 report.  The data for this report series comes from the National Minimum Data Set (NMDS).  NMDS is collected by Healthy Options programs as well as other organisations' programs funded by the government.

Some of the main trends and findings in the data:

Client demographics

• Nationally, there were 118,741 clients (1 in 200 of the population).  112,573 were attending the service for their own drug use; 7174 were significant others 
• Two thirds of clients identify as male and 14% identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
• Two thirds of significant others were female
• The treatment population seems to be ageing, with a slight decrease in 20-29y/o and an increase in 40+y/o

Drugs of concern

• The most common primary drug of concern is alcohol (40%), al though this has decreased from 2009-10 (48%)
• There has been an increase in clients with amphetamines as the reported primary drug of concern up from 7% to 17%
• There has been an increase in clients reporting inhaling and smoking as their method of use for amphetamines
• 54% of clients have more than one drug of concern

Treatment

• Over half of all agencies are located in major cities.  Only 7% are in remote or very remote areas
• The most common stated intervention remains "counselling" 43%, followed by assessment and withdrawal management 
• The median duration of treatment episodes was 3 weeks.  79% of episodes were closed within 3 months and 24% within one day
• Clients whose principle drug of concern is amphetamines or heroin generally have longer treatment episodes   
• 64% of client cessations were expected (e.g. treatment completion).  Unexpected cessations (e.g. non-compliance) accounted for 20% of cessations
• Expected cessation was highest for ecstasy (87%) and lowest for buprenorphine (45%)
• Unexpected cessation was highest for amphetamine (25%) and lowest for ecstasy (8%)

Full report available here:  http://tinyurl.com/o8eqqm6

Alcohol's harm to families and children - report

The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) have released a report this week looking at the harm alcohol causes to families and children. 

"The Hidden Harm: Alcohol's impact on children and families" has received a fair bit of media attention this week, especially around reported findings of the relationship between alcohol use and domestic and family violence.

Data for the report was compiled from the 2008 Harm to Others survey and 2011 Harm to Others follow-up survey and information from alcohol and other drug treatment, child protection, police and family violence services.

Some of the findings:

• Past harm was the strongest predictor of future harm for children and families, as well as the number of adult heavy drinkers in respondents' household and among their relatives, girlfriends, boyfriends and ex-partners. Half (50 per cent) of adult respondents harmed in 2008 were also harmed in 2011 and 35 per cent of children harmed in 2008 continued to be harmed in 2011.
• In 2011 there were 29,684 police-reported incidents of alcohol-related domestic violence in Australia
• Children are being verbally abused, left in unsupervised or unsafe situations, physically hurt or exposed to domestic violence because of others’ drinking. Many were also witnessing verbal or physical conflict, drinking or inappropriate behaviour.
• Over a million children (22 per cent of all Australian children) are estimated to be affected in some way by the drinking of others (2008). 142,582 children were substantially affected (2008), and more than 10,000 Australian children are in the child protection system because of a carers drinking (2006-07).

You can read reflections from one of the researchers here: http://drinktank.org.au/2015/02/hidden-harm-research/

You can also find FARE's "Policy Options Paper for preventing alcohol-related family and domestic violence" here: http://www.fare.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/FARE-Policy-Options-Paper-Preventing-alcohol-related-FDV.pdf

Health on the Internet

Two new developments that may be of interest when searching about health on the internet.

Medicare Local, Mater Health Services, University of Southern Queensland and a number of other partners have come together to develop a health website for refugee women.  The Community Health Hub provides health information in French, Swahili, Kirundi, Arabic and English.  Be aware that people with very low English literacy may still need help navigating the site's English menu options.

See: http://www.communityhealthhub.com.au/index.html


Google are adjusting their search algorithm to help deliver factual information to those searching health information online.  Due to the nature of the internet, some of the information you may come across is... less than reliable.  Google statistics suggest that 1 in 20 searches performed are health related, and more people are searching symptoms and illnesses as a part of assessing their own health.

To ensure that factual information from evidence-based sources is prominently featured when a user searches, a "Knowledge Graph" will appear with information such as symptoms, treatments, how common the ailment is, and whether it is contagious.  Information is sourced from reliable websites and from doctors involved in the project.  However, Google are quick to state that search results are not a replacement for visiting a doctor.

Image: Google 2015 http://bit.ly/1Aba7Fl

The changes came into place on the U.S. site from the 10th February and will be rolled out through all the sites.  You should start to see the Knowledge Graph appear when you do a medical search in the future.

For more information see:
https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/2364942?p=medical_conditions&rd=1
http://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/health-info-knowledge-graph.html

Dovetail Good Practice Guide

Dovetail have released a fourth component to their Good Practice Guide series.

The new issue Learning from each other: Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people examines the historical and contemporary contexts, which impact on young ATSI peoples.  The guide covers engagement, assessment and intervention in AOD services.  It details practical strategies and directs workers to a number of useful tools.  The guide also looks at worker and organisational capacity, and provides guidance on improving cultural awareness and inclusivity.

You can view all of the Dovetail Good Practice Guides here
http://www.dovetail.org.au/i-want-to/open-the-good-practice-toolkit.aspx

Grant writing toolkit

The National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) at Flinders University have launched an online toolkit for non-government agencies for doing grant and funding applications Fund Assist

 

The toolkit takes you through a step-by-step process to create a funding portfolio.  The portfolio provides a platform to document consistent messages and information about an organisation so that it is readily available for applications.  There is space to collate feedback received from past grant applications to ensure that mistakes may be corrected.  The site also provides detailed information on assessing the organisation's track record and identifying strengths and opportunities.

 

Using the funding portfolio you are stepped through:

• Funding evaluation criteria
• Setting up a funding development team
• Identifying funding sources
• Developing a proposal
• Writing the funding application

Each section is accompanied by activity sheets, links, videos, and resources, and each completed step can be exported in a Word document.

 

The website also has a database of funding sources and resources to help identify funding opportunities. 

 

The site is well presented and easy to navigate.  You'll even find strategically placed comics throughout the material, such as the following:

 

As a general rule, if a website contains a Dilbert comic it's both reliable and valid.  Retrieved from: NCETA 2014

 

 

Visit the website here: http://fundassist.flinders.edu.au/

Anti-poverty Week

The 12th-18th of October is anti-poverty week.  Whilst the definition of poverty is arbitrary, and no Australian government has ever adopted an official poverty line, most Australian research places it at 50% of the median income of Australians.  As the standard of living in the country improves, how a society defines poverty adjusts to the perceived average living standard.  As such, in Australia many people who have access to basic necessities, such as electricity, water, shelter and food, still meet the largely accepted criteria for living in poverty in this country.

Poverty has long researched associations with alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use.  Relationships are also drawn between poverty and homelessness, poor mental health, poor general and oral health, consumption of energy-dense nutrient-poor food, and poorer educational outcomes.


Listed below is a selection of reports and resources on the topic of poverty in Australia.

Reports

Families, incomes and jobs, Volume 9: A statistical report on Waves 1 - 11 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, 2014.
http://www.melbourneinstitute.com/downloads/hilda/Stat_Report/statreport-v9-2014.pdf

• This report covers data collected from 2001-2011.
• Report maintains that the percentage of people living on/under the poverty line was relatively stable from 2001-2011.  At 2011, 12.9% of responding households met the criteria for living in poverty
• Poverty rates are highest amongst the elderly (23.9- 36.8% dependent on relationship status and sex) and lone parent families (27.4%)
• Rates of lone parent families living in poverty sharply increased with the "Welfare-to-Work" reforms in 2006.  These reforms meant that some recipients were moved from a Single Parent Payment to the Newstart Allowance, reducing their income. In 2011, 29.5% of children in lone parent households were living in poverty
• The report provides statistics into permanent poverty; assuming that in a given year a portion of respondents who meet the criteria for poverty may not in the following year.  The permanent poverty rate had increased from 8.5% (2003-2007) to 10% (2007-2011). There had been a sharp rise in permanent child poverty from 4.8% (2005-2009) to 7.8% (2007-2011) 

Advance Australia Fair? What to do about growing inequality in Australia, 2014.
http://www.australia21.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Final-InequalityinAustraliaRepor-2.pdf

• Report provides insight into the growing inequality of income in Australia
• Since the mid 1970s the income of the bottom tenth of earners has increased by 15%, whilst the income of the top tenth has increased by 59%
• The top 20% account for 61% of all household wealth; whilst the bottom 20% account for 1% of wealth
• The bottom 20% of earners rely on government payments for 3/4 of their income.  
• The Newstart Allowance is reported to be the lowest unemployment benefit of all Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. 52% of recipients of Newstart reach the criteria for living in poverty 
• Several suggestions are made for addressing this inequality; including, but not limited to, tax reform

Rental Affordability Snapshot, 2014
http://www.anglicare.asn.au/site/rental_affordability_snapshot.php

• Anglicare assesses the affordability of housing using the measure that rent should be a maximum of 30% of a household's earnings to be classified as affordable
• The snapshot looks at properties available on one weekend. In 2014 this was the 5-6th April
• Less than 1% of the properties available were affordable for those on government payments
• 0.2% would be affordable for a single parent on Newstart

A snapshot of poverty in rural and regional Australia, 2014
http://www.antipovertyweek.org.au/images/documents/2013/Rural_poverty_snapshot_-_11_October_FINAL_2.pdf

• Poverty rates are higher in regional and rural areas compared with metropolitan.  For example Queensland's overall level of poverty in 2010 was 12.5% compared with 15% in rural areas
• The average Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person's income is 70% of the Australian average
• There is no region in Australia where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a higher disposable income than non-Indigenous people.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represent 2.5% of the population, and 25% of the homeless population

Interactive resources

Social Health Atlas of Australia
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/phidu/
This interactive map allows you to examine social health by region across Australia.


On the Brink: Four Corners Report
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2013/07/01/3791178.htm
A Four Corner's report examining those who are living on a Newstart Allowance and how that affects their lifestyle and opportunities.

3 simple activities for Mental Health Week 2014

It's Mental Health Week and this year it is being more highly recognised than ever. 
Here are 3 suggested activities for the week that won't take up a lot of time or effort:


1. Tune in to ABC as both radio and TV stations participate in "Mental As" this week, with programming focusing on mental health and illness.




How's the serenity?

2. Spend some time doing a relaxation activity.  These guided exercises from the University of Sydney are quite good and include breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic relaxation and visualisation. 











3. Be sure to be aware of your own mental health needs and catch up on this blog post, from the start of the year, on self care resources
http://aodmhresourcecentre.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/self-care-resources.html

Sharing stories

The Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) has launched a new website Tell Your Story encouraging those who use, have used, or are in any other way involved with alcohol and other drugs to write about their experiences.  The purpose is to provide a platform for people to share their personal stories about drugs and alcohol.

The ANCD chairman Dr John Herron had this to say in the organisation's media release:, “This project is unique in that it seeks the real life experiences with drugs and alcohol from the public. We know already that some stories will inspire others, some will help others to understand that they are not alone and some will be thought provoking and revealing. I am also so pleased that the NGO sector will take on this important work to document and share the contemporary Australian experience with drugs and alcohol. Too often it is a discussion that we fear and try and hide, when the better approach is to be open about our collective experiences. Only then can we fully understand this complex aspect of our lives”

Workers and employers are also encouraged to leave stories.  Stories are moderated and may be edited to ensure no personal details sneak through and that offensive language is removed.  It may take a week for a story to be available on the site.

The stories are freely accessible; there is no log in process.

Visit the Tell Your Story Website here

or read the full media release here.

Another Scottish site that serves a similar function from a mental health perspective is Write to Recovery (brought to our attention by Michelle, Brisbane CAFSS coordinator.  Thanks, Michelle!).  This site also allows free access to stories and has the additional feature of providing writers with tools to help with the writing process.

National child protection week

National Child Protection Week begins Sunday 7th September and you can visit the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) website for posters and resources to raise awareness around the week.  There are several printable brochures available through the "Resource Hub" section of the website.

For further resources/reading on the topic see:

ANCD Research paper:

From policy to implementation: child and family sensitive practice in the alcohol and other drugs sector.  (2014) National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction
 Outlines child and family sensitive practice and recommends alcohol and drug organisations :

• Organisations be encouraged to review and, where appropriate, amend their policies to incorporate clear policies and guidelines on working from a child and family sensitive perspective.
• Alcohol and other drugs organisations and child welfare/protection services develop joint protocols and systems that facilitate information sharing about the wellbeing and safety of clients’ children.
• In the implementation of child and family sensitive practice, consideration be given to the evidence base for good practice, including the exemplars identified as part of this project.
• When developing and implementing child and family sensitive practice, alcohol and other drugs organisations identify and support champions who can be used to promote the implementation of child and family sensitive practice.
• Alcohol and other drugs organisations review and update their current training provision in relation to child and family sensitive practice and ensure that staff are provided with appropriate professional development opportunities.
• Alcohol and other drugs organisations review and update their clinical supervision guidelines to ensure that they include reference to child and family sensitive practice.

The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet has links to health promotion and practice resources, and publications on family violence.


Gruenert & Tsantefski (2012) Responding to the needs of children and parents in families experiencing alcohol and other drug problems. Prevention Research Quarterly, 17. 


We will have a display of resources in the library during the week.  We'll also be looking at providing resources and information on the topic of child abuse and trauma to tie in with Blue Knot Day, on the 27th October.







  

NCETA launches new AOD knowledgebase

The National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction has just launched a new website

The National Alcohol and Drug Knowledgebase

 

The site has four knowledge areas; alcohol, cannabis, pharmaceuticals, and methamphetamines.  At present only the "alcohol" section of the website has been finished.

 

The information presented is intended for clinicians, researchers, policy makers and the general public.  All of the information has been presented in an easy-to-read, easy-to-navigate question and answer format.  They have evaluated and analysed a number of key resources to provide the answers, meaning that the end user does not need to wade through the huge amounts of information available and try to critic the information themselves.  The information provided in the answers is brief and references are included as a separate page. 

 

The Alcohol Section of the Knowledgebase contains more than 130 frequently asked questions (FAQs) about:
 · Consumption patterns
· Alcohol use and the workplace
· Alcohol-related harms
· The impact of alcohol consumption on crime and violence
· Treatment
· Young people

 

It is envisaged that the website will be updated frequently to ensure the information is always current.

 

 

Free access to OUP cannabis readings

 

Oxford University Press are helping contribute to the debate on the legalisation of cannabis by offering free access to a special collection of articles. Access is available until the 31st May, 2014.

http://oxfordjournals.org/subject/medicine/cannabiscollection.html

New factsheet - best practice for working with CALD clients

Drug and Alcohol Multicultural Education Centre (DAMEC) have just released an easy to read ten strategy factsheet on best practice approaches to working with culturally and linguistically diverse clients.

http://www.damec.org.au/resources/damec-publications/workforce-development-resources/best-practice-approaches-for-working-with-culturally-diverse-clients-in-aod-treatment-settings

The factsheet also lists some great websites for getting multilingual resources for clients. 

Included in the list of external resources is Mental Health in Multicultural Australia who also have a good Knowledge Exchange section for professional reading.  They've outlined a framework for mental health in multicultural Australia, which they've spread out over an entire website.  It is relatively easy to navigate, particularly if you scroll straight to the bottom of the homepage and select "I am a service manager" or "I am a worker/clinician".  Once viewing the framework outcomes you can reflect on whether you (or your service) meets the requirements of an entry, developing, or advanced standard.