LxAddictions24: Hepatitis C, other infectious diseases, and drug-related harms

In this episode, Dr Claire Garnett, winner of the SSA’s Fred Yates prize 2022, talks about her research and career. She focuses on her work at UCL developing the Drink Less app for reducing alcohol related harms and drinking. Claire also talks about how the team developed an app that was based on theoretical models of change and on health psychology and behavioural science principles. “My career thus far has been: If I’ve really enjoyed doing something and found it interesting, I’ve kept going”Claire also talks about her work on user testing and the lengthy process of making sure that health related apps work how they are intended before then evaluating them.“We thought we’d created the best app – I was so proud of it. We did those first ones and no one had any idea what to do when they arrived at the landing page [...] And it was so obvious to us because we’d been so involved with it, and it really highlighted the importance of [user testing].”Claire also talks about the impact of being endorsed by a certain 51-year-old celebrity…“I was like ‘everyone knows who Adrian Childs is’, and somebody went ‘no they don’t’ […] so we need to explain from a scientific perspective who actually is this person and why might it matter that he spoke about the app.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1 Juni 202233min

Rob talks to WDP about the challenges and rewards of running an IPS employment support programme. In this episode of Addictions Edited, Rob looks at how addiction treatment services can help people to find and keep employment. Recorded on 20 March 2022, Rob met three people who work in WDP’s Individual Placement and Support service (IPS Into Work); Rebecca Odedra, Harj Bansil and Claire Bowey. They each talked about finding jobs, the range of jobs they work with and how they deal with potentially stigmatising views when talking to employers. As well as the challenges, they also talk about how rewarding their work can be when helping people in their recovery. Rebecca discusses how IPS was adapted from mental health settings, how it is evaluated and their experiences of fidelity rating. “You’ve got people who may have been unemployed for 10 sometimes 20 years, so that is a huge step for them and it’s such an achievement and it’s just nice to be a part of that and help people realise their goals” Claire Bowey“What really appealed to me about the IPS model, was that it did not discriminate, it wasn’t someone telling service users that you have to be well to be working, it was very much based on their motivation and then developing the right support around them to foster successful outcomes” Harj BansilUseful links: About IPS: https://ipsgrow.org.uk/what-is-ips/WDP website: https://www.wdp.org.uk/IPS Into Work: https://www.wdp.org.uk/employment-supportIPS Into Work Impact Report 2019-2021: https://www.wdp.org.uk/ips-impact-report Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Maj 202242min

For this special episode, Rob visits a London treatment service to talk to Martin McCusker from Lambeth Service User Council and Dr Martin Sefranek a substance misuse worker and researcher and Dr Rebecca McDonald an addictions researcher who joins them on zoom from Oslo.The podcast covers several key issues relating to naloxone, including how it works, how to administer it, legal implications and the latest research. They talk about the role of naloxone in reducing drug-related deaths in the UK and the implications for drug policy.They also discuss how to encourage people who use drugs to carry naloxone and the reasons why some people might not. Martin McCusker and Martin Sefranek talk about training people to use naloxone. And in particular their work with family and parents.“You always call the ambulance, but then …. you are counting the minutes or seconds yeah, but if you have naloxone you can do something more. And I think for these parents it was important to know that this is something they can do.” – Martin Sefranek“We’ve had really positive interactions between people and police …where they’ve been stopped and searched and it’s been a tense situation but then the naloxone is found and the whole vibe of the search changes.” – Martin McCusker“There is the estimate that two-thirds of overdoses could be prevented, but this very much relies on people not using on their own.” - Rebecca McDonald Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Apr 202247min

The SSA interviews Professor Gabriele Fischer in advance of her Society Lecture at the 2022 Annual Conference in November. This year's conference will be in Bristol on 4 and 5 November. early-bird tickets are now available here.In this interview, Professor Gabriele Fischer talks about her interest in human rights work in relation to people who use drugs. She discusses the implications of UN human rights treaties and how they apply to psychiatry. She also talks about the importance of incorporating family planning and trauma informed care into treatment services along with international issues around coercion in treatment.Professor Fischer outlines the information about human rights that are important for people who use drugs, but also about the human rights responsibilities for states in providing treatment services, noting that "financial complaints is no justification for having violated human rights aspects". “I’m not a supporter of only talking about female substance use disorder. It has to be about sex and gender differences […] and what both sexes share.”See the SSA pages on adopting a rights based approach to treatment delivery. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Mars 202228min

In this bonus episode of the Addictions Edited podcast to mark International Women's Day 2022, Dr Polly Radcliffe and Dr Emma Smith discuss research exploring the best way of providing care for women who use drugs during pregnancy and their infants.The Stepping Stones study brings together researchers from Kings College London, University of Huddersfield, University of Stirling and Homerton University Hospital Foundation Trust, and is led by Dr Polly Radcliffe of King’s College, London and Professor Helen Cheyne of the University of Stirling.Listen to this extended interview with researchers Dr Polly Radcliffe and Dr Emma Smith, a segment of which was played in the February Addictions Edited podcast. Polly and Emma talk about:the creation of an expert advisory and co-production groupreviews of clinical guidelines and existing interventionsinterviews with women who use drugs throughout their pregnancy and post-birth, and focus group and individual interviews with staff who work with women who use drugs in pregnancy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Mars 202220min

The SSA talks to the editors behind a new textbook about recovery from substance use problems. They discuss the different types of experiences and stories that went into the book, how this text consolidates and advances knowledge about recovery, and give a behind-the-scenes look at the world of academic publishing.Meet the guests of this bonus episode of Addictions Edited:Professor Sarah Galvani is Professor of Social Research and Substance Use at Manchester Metropolitan University.Professor Alastair Roy is Professor of Social Research in the School of Social Work, Care and Community, University of Central Lancashire.Amanda Clayson is the founder of VoiceBox Inc. and a community research partner with Manchester Metropolitan University.Sarah, Alastair, and Amanda collaborated on a book titled “Long-term recovery from substance use: European perspectives”, which was published on 14 January 2022. This unique text centres the voices of people with substance use problems, and brings together international experts to explore different aspects of people’s experience of long-term recovery from substance use.Reactions to the book:"This book will get you thinking. Drawing on research and experiences from different countries and different substances, it skillfully explores relationships, trauma and life stages presenting lived experiences of long-term recovery." Hilda Loughran, Associate Professor of Social Work/Social Policy at University College Dublin"A particular strength of the book is the prominence it gives to the voices of experts by experience, either because their substance use has been problematic for them or because it has affected them as family members." Jim Orford, University of Birmingham and King's College London Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Mars 202241min

Dr Ed Day talks to the SSA about his role as the UK government's first Recovery Champion. He talks about shaping this new role, about policy history and what he has learned from people in recovery.Ed discusses his work in recovery settings from the early 2000s and reflects on what can be learned from that era. He talks about DANOS and workforce development, reflecting many of the themes in the Dame Carol Black report.He talks about the difficulties caused when harm reduction and abstinence were pitched against each other noting that this division distracted many people from the damages caused by years of disinvestment in addiction treatment services.Ed goes on to describe Recovery Oriented Systems of Care and how they have the potential to tap into the huge support systems in recovery. He emphasises, however, that they need supporting through infrastructure and investment to give them the value they deserve, noting that “recovery support services need parity of esteem”. “There are some amazing individuals around the UK who have battled through horrendous life stories and they’ve now gone on to devote a lot of their energy to helping people out of this.”“Unless we tap into that massive energy, we are missing something enormous in the treatment sphere.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Feb 202229min

This month’s guest on the SSA podcast is Dr James Morris from London South Bank University who hosts The Alcohol Problem podcast. James joins the podcast regulars Dr Rob Calder and Dr Carol-Ann Getty to talk about the latest news, research, policy and debates relating to addiction.“Guidelines or statistics about risk do not resonate with people, but lived experience and stories about people’s lives absolutely do resonate. So we have to be aware of that when we’re thinking about how to change opinion or get people thinking about change or behaviour change.” - Dr James MorrisWe interview Dr Polly Radcliffe and Emma Smith about their research into services for pregnant women who use drugs (the full interview will be published later in February 2022) and we talk to Dr Nathan Critchlow about the impact of Ireland's recent alcohol policy changes.Go to the SSA website for links to all the news, research and other features discussed in this podcast.Follow James (@jamesmorris24) and the SSA (@SSA_Addiction) on twitter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 Feb 202245min