Support for the psychosocial, disease and brain disease models of addiction: A survey of treatment providers' attitudes in Australia, the UK, and U.S

'We don't live in a harm reduction world, we live in a prohibition world': tensions arising in the design of drug alerts

BACKGROUND

Drug alerts designed for health and community workforces have potential to avert acute harms associated with unpredictable illicit drug markets, by preparing workers to respond to unusual drug-related events, and distribute information to service users. However, the design of such alerts is complicated by diverse needs of individuals, and broader socio-political contexts. Here, we discuss the tensions that arose in the process of co-designing drug alert templates with health and community workers.

METHODS

We conducted five in-depth digital co-design workshops with 31 workers employed in alcohol and other drug and urgent care settings. Our approach to analysis was informed by Iterative Categorisation and reflexive thematic analysis methods.

RESULTS

We identified five key tensions. First, there is a need to provide comprehensive information to meet the information needs of a diverse group of workers with varying knowledge levels, while also designing alerts to be clear, concise, and relevant to the work of individuals. Second, it is important that alerts do not create 'information overload'; however, it is also important that information should be available to those who want it. Third, alert design and dissemination must be perceived to be credible, to avoid 'alert scepticism'; however, credibility is challenging to develop in a broader context of criminalisation, stigmatisation, and sensationalism. Fourth, alerts must be carefully designed to achieve 'intended effects' and avoid unintended effects, while acknowledging that it is impossible to control all potential effects. Finally, while alerts may be intended for an audience of health and community workers, people who use drugs are the end-users and must be kept front of mind in the design process.

CONCLUSIONS

The co-design process revealed complexities in designing drug alerts, particularly in the context of stigmatised illicit drug use, workforce diversity, and dissemination strategies. This study has highlighted the value of developing these important risk communication tools with their target audiences to ensure that they are relevant, useful, and impactful. The findings have informed the development of our drug alert prototypes and provide local context to complement existing best-practice risk-communications literature.

The effect of alcohol use disorder symptom and recovery narratives on problem-recognition: A randomized online trial

BACKGROUND

Low problem recognition is a barrier to seeking treatment for alcohol use disorder ("AUD"). Promoting continuum belief narratives, which conceptualize AUD as a spectrum, together with narratives that promote non-abstinence recovery may boost self-recognition of risky drinking. This experimental study examines the effect of dichotomous vs continuous symptom narratives and non-abstinence vs abstinence recovery narratives on self-recognition of risky drinking among students.

METHODS

N = 489 participants were randomized to one of four interventions combining a continuous vs dichotomous AUD symptom narrative with an abstinence vs moderated drinking AUD recovery narrative in a 2×2 design. Participants completed demographic and alcohol use (AUDIT-C) preintervention measures and postintervention measures assessing self-recognition of risky drinking and endorsement of continuum beliefs.

RESULTS

Moderate drinking recovery narratives resulted in higher endorsement of continuum beliefs (F (1, 485) = 16.27, p <.001, η2p =.032 90 % CI [0.01, 0.06]). Recognizing own risky drinking behavior was unaffected by the interventions. However, in a subgroup of participants without prior AUD experience who met AUDIT-C criteria for risky drinking, the combination of a continuous symptom narrative and moderated drinking recovery narrative resulted in higher problem recognition (F (1, 48) = 5.79, p =.020, η2p =.10, 90 % CI [0.01, 0.25]).

CONCLUSIONS

Exposure to moderated drinking recovery narratives may help develop an awareness in young adults that problematic alcohol use exists on a spectrum. Among those at increased risk for AUD, exposure to narratives that promote a continuous model of AUD and non-abstinence recovery may increase problem recognition.

Is a brain-based understanding of addiction predominant? An assessment of addiction researchers' conceptions of addiction and their evaluation of brain-based explanations

INTRODUCTION

Brain-based explanations of addiction have become a prominent explanatory model in recent decades. Although opposing views have been published, there is no large-scale study of researchers' opinions, unlike for treatment staff, the public and affected individuals. Therefore, this study aimed to examine international addiction researchers' perspectives on: (i) brain-based explanations of addiction; (ii) the perceived dominance of the concept in science, society, treatment and among those affected; and (iii) researchers' general conception of addiction in terms of ontologies and causes.

METHODS

A sample of 1440 international addiction researchers was compiled. Views were assessed online via LimeSurvey using a 'mixed methods light' approach (Likert-type scales, free-text fields). Qualitative content analyses of free-text comments complemented descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

One hundred and ninety researchers participated (13.19% response). The classification of substance use disorders as brain diseases/disorders was shared by about 60% of the respondents. Approximately 80% considered it the dominant view in science, but fewer in treatment, society and affected persons. Approximately 75% found it an oversimplification, but regarded it as helpful for understanding substance use disorders. Altogether, various biological, psychological and social factors were considered causal. Comments indicated that an over-simplistic nature of brain-based explanations of addiction was viewed as particularly problematic.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

A rejection of a simplistic view of addiction in favour of a multi-causal concept in which the brain plays a role seems to be the majority view of participating researchers. Therefore, the orientation of future research, treatment and support for addicted persons need to be reconsidered accordingly.

Police Officers' addiction frameworks and policy attitudes

Police officers have frequent encounters with people who use drugs, either by making an arrest for a drug-related offense or responding to a drug overdose call. Yet, little is known about how police officers view drug addiction - as a disease, a moral failure, or something else - and how their frameworks for conceptualizing addiction impact their attitudes toward drug policies, including the use of naloxone. This research examined police officers' adherence to a moralistic addiction framework in relation to their support for treatment-oriented drug policies. Officers (N = 618) were surveyed about their beliefs on drug policy and the extent to which drug addiction was a product of one's morals or related to social or biological reasons. Results found that approximately 22% of the variance in drug policy attitudes could be explained by addiction frameworks and control variables. Officers who embraced a biological perspective of addiction were more supportive of policies that expanded treatment, including access to naloxone, and less punitive sanctions. Those with stronger moralistic views were less supportive of expanding treatment initiatives and endorsed expanding punitive sanctions. Officer age and education was positively related with expanding treatment and naloxone use while exposure to overdoses was negatively related to policy support. These results demonstrate that officers' frameworks about drug addiction play an important role in drug policy attitudes and, by extension, how they might interact with people who use drugs.

Implications of addiction diagnosis and addiction beliefs for public stigma: A cross-national experimental study

INTRODUCTION

Stigmatisation of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use disorders poses a significant barrier to treatment access. A review by the World Health Organization concluded that addictive disorders were the most stigmatised health condition. Few studies have examined whether different etiological models of addiction (MOA) have implications for public stigma toward AOD disorders. The current study examined whether beliefs representative of five MOA predict public stigma levels and whether stigma differs for AOD use disorders relative to other health conditions.

METHODS

Survey data were collected from Canada, the USA and Australia using an online data collection platform. Participants were randomised to one of four vignette manipulations describing an individual with an alcohol use disorder and/or other disorder. Participants' stigma toward the vignette character and beliefs related to five MOA (disease, moral, psychological, sociological, nature) were measured.

RESULTS

Stigma ratings were significantly higher in the alcohol use disorder condition compared to other conditions. Two MOA accounted for significant variance in stigma ratings, where greater beliefs in the nature and psychological MOA predicted significantly lower levels of stigma toward alcohol use disorder. Contrary to predictions, beliefs in the disease MOA did not relate to lower stigma. Lastly, beliefs in the moral MOA partly accounted for geographical region differences (the USA vs. Canada) in public stigma.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The current study provides further experimental support that AOD disorders are more stigmatised than others. Additionally, the findings suggest that MOA may relate differentially to perceived stigma, and that regional variability in such beliefs exists.