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Innovation in MONITORING
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This includes:
-
monitoring the
situation
(New means / tools to monitor behaviour, e.g. big data / Social media analytics)
-
monitoring
consequences
(New epidemiology methodology, tools to monitor harm and establish levels of risk, e.g. Standard Joint Unit for cannabis)
-
monitoring
responses
(tracking / analysing different policy and practice responses - regulation, prevention and treatment)
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Drug-use and AGING
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Aging drug users are increasing
and facing chronic physical and mental health problems: different problems depending on the drugs; our current knowledge of
long-term consequences
depending on the drug (e.g. we know a lot about alcohol and heroin and ageing, but not much about cannabis, NPS, club drugs)
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PREVENTION: changes in preventive orientation and techniques
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The impact of preventive health messages is changing due to
new cmmunication techniques
being adopted and
evolving attitudes and motivations of target populations
e.g. delayed gratification, prioritising pleasure over consequences. Other issues undergoing change: unintended effects (e.g. stigma); social views and attitudes to drug use; attitudes of care professionals towards users; role of health systems in influencing lifestyle choices.
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HARM REDUCTION: New approaches & High-risk groups
|
Changing scope and focus of harm reduction
, e.g. Full spectrum harm reduction.
Differential impact of the economic cutbacks and stigma on the availability of resources for prevention, treatment and research;
Human rights
and drugs. Predicting changes in
drug-related infectious diseases
(DRID)
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TREATMENT : New treatment approaches
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Biotechnology
advances and changes in terms of
diagnosis, new treatments, and new drugs
. Examples include: mainstream alternatives to abstinence, trans-cranial magnetic stimulation, medication assisted treatment, genetic tailoring, vaccines, integrated care programmes.
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DIGITAL HEALTH
|
Opportunities to tackle inequities in
access
to literacy and treatment; potential of digital resources in prevention and treatment of addictions as a way to
tailored treatment options
,
universal
and
affordable
large scale population interventions
|
|
BEHAVIOURAL ADDICTIONS
|
The lack of diagnostic entities prevents accurate
monitoring and public health impact assessment
.
Pharmacological treatment
: New research methods into neurobiological underpinnings of behavioural addictions (difficulty of animal models). New insight into
social determinants and policy action
. Interface with
technology
.
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THE BUSINESS OF ADDICTIONS
|
Changing trends in
user ("client") profiles
and patterns of drug use. Generation Z (millenials): changes in lifestyles, consumer patterns and risk taking; Sociodemographic and geographic trends: Specifics of
urban recreational drug use
and new
routes of administration
, implications for
monitoring and prevention
: potential of social media analytics for monitoring; How social media is shaping social norms of drug use.
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EMERGING BUSINESS MODELS for addictive products (legal or illegal)
|
This includes:
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NEW POLICY PARTNERSHIPS
|
Participation of public and civil society sectors
(social innovation): Improving the scope and quality of user and stakeholder involvement in drug policy making; Setting the agenda for prevention and research priorities; accountability.
Industry partnerships and regulation
: Code of ethics of the industries related to addictive substances (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis) and behaviours (gambling); Who is taking the lead on shaping the business landscape of emerging addictive products (e.g. cannabis, e-cigarettes, legal highs)?
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SOCIAL AND HEALTH INEQUITIES
|
Policing
and criminal justice strategies: factors related to
discrimination
(ethnicity, age, gender,…); Intergenerational transmission of substance abuse due to health and social inequities: family and community
interventions
; unequal
access
to prevention and treatment resources;
changing levels of inequality.
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INTENT AND PREDICTABILITY IN POLICY MAKING
|
Methodologies to
assess intended and unintended consequences
of proposed measures
|