Alcohol Policy UK

Events and updates: Alcohol Research UK 72nd symposium & studentships; rolling out brief inteventions in Scotland; last call for New Directions 2012 bursary; Adfam family survey; MA in Comparative Drug and Alcohol studies

Forthcoming events

The 72nd Alcohol Problems Research Symposium is calling for abstracts or other presentation suggestions for the Spring 2012 meeting to take place Stonecross Manor Hotel in Cumbria on the 14th and 15th March. The meeting is part of a long-running series of friendly events in which Alcohol Research UK is helping to organise with Professor Moira Plant, Emerita Professor of Alcohol Studies at the University of the West of England. See here for more information.

Alcohol Research UK have also opened the annual Studentship Scheme. The deadline for the academic year 2012/13 is 10th May 2012. See here for full details.

On Tuesday 27th March 2012, Edinburgh Cyrenians will be holding a one day conference at Murrayfield Stadium: Can Brief Interventions change Scotland's relationship with alcohol? Developing the model for community settings. The event will offer practical support on introducing alcohol brief interventions to new settings and provide opportunities to discuss and share experiences in workshop sessions. For more information see here or contact jenny@cyrenians.org.uk 0131 475 2354.

The New Directions in the Study of Alcohol Group (NDSAG) 2012 conference, exploring '21 years of experience and the future for motivational interviewing' takes place from Thursday 24th May 2012 to Sunday 27th May 2012, in Llandindrod Wells, Wales. The conference will include a keynote from Professor Stephen Rollnick. Submissions for the The Ron McKechnie Prize close this Sunday 29th Feb!

A free workshop on working with 'Frequent Fliers', those with the highest levels of alcohol-related hospital admissions takes place Friday, 23rd March 2012, London. See here for the flyer.  

Further updates:

The Charity Adfam is conducting a short survey for family members affected by problem alcohol use. If you are a family member please complete the short anonymous survey. If you are a practitioner who works with family members please pass the link on: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JCDS9LR

Middlesex University has opened a new MA course Comparative Drug and Alcohol Studies. It is designed to develop knowledge and understanding of drugs and alcohol issues, policies and interventions within a comparative context. It is relevant to policy makers and practitioners, and to students and researchers associated with the drug and alcohol field. Full info here.

SIPS brief interventions findings conference: 5th March 2012, King's College London

Results from the UK's largest brief intervention study, the SIPS trial, will be officialy released at a conference on Monday 5th March 2012, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London.

Download the flyer for Alcohol Screening and Brief Interventions: From Research into Practice [pdf]. The event is a one day conference including the launch of SIPS Junior, a new trial into brief interventions for adolescents.

The Screening and Intervention Programme for Sensible drinking (SIPS) research programme was funded by the UK Department of Health as part of the national Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England.

The programme comprised three cluster randomised controlled trials for different methods of screening and brief intervention across three settings: Primary Health Care, Emergency Departments, and Probation Services. It involved and trained 670 members of staff across all these settings. During the 13-month data collection period 10,530 patients were screened and almost 2,500 recruited  into the study, making it the largest alcohol screening and brief intervention pilot study so far conducted in the UK.

See here for the draft programme and here for online registration. Due to the limited number of places available SIPS advise the earliest possible registration, which will close on 24 February 2012.

NDSAG 2012: Rollnick to speak on 21 years and the future of motivational interviewing; Ron McKechnie bursary prize announced

New Directions in the Study of Alcohol Group (NDSAG) has announced its 2012 conference which will explore 21 years of experience and the future for motivational interviewing.

The conference will include a keynote from Professor Stephen Rollnick, author of 'Behaviour Change: a guide for health care professionals' and co-author with Bill Miller of the seminal 'Motivational Interviewing'.

Download the flyer New Directions and Motivational Interviewing 21 years of experience and the future for motivational interviewing or the Welsh verison here.

NDSAG 2012 takes place from Thursday 24th May 2012 to Sunday 27th May 2012, in Llandindrod Wells, Powys, Wales. Other keynote speakers will include Professor Keith Humphreys and Professor Nick Heather amongst others.

NDSAG are also announcing The Ron McKechnie Prize, a competition to submit a paper for publication in the New Directions in the Study of Alcohol Group 2012 Journal. The prize for the winning article will be a bursary for free attendance including registration, accommodation and meals for the full conference. The prize commemorates the memory of Ron McKechnie, one of the founding members of NDSAG, who sadly died last year.

The conference will also feature the annual Alcohol Research UK (formerly AERC) symposium to showcase some of the key research recently funded.

For more infromation visit the NDSAG site or blog, or download the booking form or call for papers. For queries email trev.mcc@virgin.net.

Jobs and events: Alcohol Academy Programme Lead; Hospital Alcohol Liaison and other events

Jobs: Alcohol Academy Programme Lead

The Alcohol Academy is seeking a part-time Programme Lead to lead on the delivery of its work to support local alcohol harm reduction across England. The Academy is a small social enterprise which aims to foster effective alcohol harm reduction through the delivery of events, information and networking for local leads.    

Details: 17.5 hours per week at £20,529 pro rata, 1 year fixed term. London (with some travel)

See here for for the person specification, job description and details of how to apply. Closing date: Monday 15th August 2011.

Forthcoming events

An event focusing on alcohol work within hospital settings takes
place in Bradford on 17th October 201. 'Alcohol Care & Management in the General Hospital Setting' seminar flyer here. 

New Directions in the Study of Alcohol Group 2012: The 2012 conference will take place from 24-27 May in Wales and will have behaviour change pioneer Professor Steven Rollnick speaking.

An event for Social Workers covering drug and alcohol treatment takes place on 17th November in Manchester. A Westminster Forum Projects event explores 'a new approach to responsible drinking?' (cost from £80 - 190 +vat). 

An event releasing SIPS brief interventions findings is expected to take place in London on 30th November - watch this space. Further regional events for alcohol leads are being planned by the Alcohol Academy - next will be for alcohol roles in the North East in October, in partnership with Balance.

Alcohol Awareness week is reported to be 14-20 November, more details to follow from Alcohol Concern and here.

Forthcoming events : NDSAG, Pharmacy IBA, Tobacco and DV conferences and dates

New Directions in the Study of Alcohol Group’s (NDSAG) Annual International Conference

The 2011 annual conference addresses 'Big Drinking and the Big Society: Inequality and alcohol problems – are we really all in this together? It takes place from Thursday 14th nd – Sunday 17thth April in Lancaster.

Click here for the programme and 2011 flyer + booking form.

Alcohol Screening and brief intervention in pharmacies: new public health role for pharmacists?

Taking place on Thursday 7th April 2011 Time: 10.00am – 3.30pm at King’s College London, this free event will discuss findings of the NHS Lambeth Pharmacy Alcohol Project and explore how community pharmacists may best deliver alcohol screening and brief intervention in their pharmacies.

See here for Pharmacy alcohol conference invitation flyer and conference programme. To confirm your attendance please email your name, job title and contact details by 14th March 2011 to ranjita.dhital@kcl.ac.uk

Tobacco and alcohol conference: Learning from each other

Alcohol Concern is hosting a joint conference with ASH Wales in Cardiff on 12 and 13 October 2011, looking at the related issues of alcohol and tobacco use, and how practitioners and policy makers in the two fields can learn from each other.

The conference organisers are particularly interested in receiving abstracts from the people and organisations who are prepared to share lessons learnt with colleagues at the conference. See here for full conference information.

AVA (Against Violence and Abuse) training courses

3 forthcoming courses from AVA (all at £90 vol / £130 stat, including a copy of the Stella Project toolkit):

• The Links between Domestic Violence and Problematic Substance Use, 24th March, London. For info and booking click here.
• Working with Domestic Violence Perpetrators within a Substance Misuse Agency, 4 April, London. For info and booking click here.
• Safeguarding Children - Living with Parental Substance Misuse and Domestic Violence, 15 April, London. For info and booking click here.

Alcohol Concern 2010 conference 'Is drinking damaging childhood?': presentations and DDN report

Presentations are available here from the recent Alcohol Concern 2010 conference 'Is drinking damaging childhood?'.

The latest Drink and Drugs news includes a feature report on day. The DDN editorial reads:

This issue’s cover story makes a very good case, not just for intervention, but early enough intervention. A 32 per cent increase in alcohol-related hospital admissions among the under-18s within just five years. Why isn’t there more of a public outcry?

Young people are more sophisticated than many would give them credit for, but regulation is inevitably rendered impotent by the proliferation of new media. The goal of achieving a 9pm watershed for alcohol advertising on TV is suddenly dwarfed by the reality of the omnipresent internet and mobile devices. How can we keep a step ahead? The professionals that deal with the effects of alcohol on children keep coming back to the same conclusion – that no real progress will be made without tackling the power and influence of the industry. Until then, all we can do is make sure frontline workers are as well informed and resourced as possible, says Alcohol Concern’s Don Shenker.

Alcohol Concern released a series of reports relating to children and young people as part of Alcohol Awareness Week 2010. Two reports on alcohol use and young people were also recently released by the JRF. See the the Alcohol Learning Centre for a full list of alcohol-related documents and resources on children and young people.

DDN has recently ran a series of features on alcohol; the alcohol debate featured in the 11 October issue, prompting a number of letters in response (see page 8). The 27 September issue featured an exploration of the future of alcohol policy within the changing substance misuse and public health agendas.

East of England regional alcohol event 2010 presentations

As highlighted in the recent East of England 4th regional alcohol newsletter, presentations from the EOE Annual Conference on the 19 May 2010 have been published on the Alcohol Learning Centre including:

• Community Alcohol Partnerships - A new way of tackling under age drinking
• Alcohol Treatment Pathways - local routes Feb 2010
• Information Sharing from Emergency Departments to Prevent Alcohol Related Assaults
• Reducing Alcohol Harm and Violence: Sharing ED Data
• Strengthening partnerships to improve alcohol services
• Sexual Health in Essex -Teenage Pregnancy and Alcohol
• Implementing a response to Families with multiple problems
• West Suffolk Hospital Alcohol Project
• Licensing Tools
• Improving Health, Supporting Justice in the East of England
• Tacking Alcohol Related Violence in Suffolk

Alcohol events and conferences: NDSAG and more

NDSAG Conference 2011

The New Directions in the Study of Alcohol Group 2011 conference takes place on Thursday 14th – Sunday 17th April in Lancaster. NDSAG are issuing an open invitation to submit to the New Directions Journal and win a bursary to the conference. For more see the NDSAG website and blog.

Other events & dates

The 7th INEBRIA (International Network on Brief Interventions for Alcohol Problems) conference will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden the 9th an the 10th of September 2010. In the conference website you’ll find updated information on conference.

Don't forget Alcohol Awareness week takes place from Monday 18 October to Sunday 24 October in England and Wales, and during the week beginning 4 October in Scotland.

Alcohol Concern's annual conference is taking place on 2nd November, London, details here. Pavillion's 'Aiming high for drug and alcohol treatment' takes place on 13th October in London - details here.

Check the Alcohol Learning Centre events page for more events.

Alcohol Concern 2010 Annual Conference: 'Generation alcohol: is drinking damaging childhood?'

Alcohol Concern's 2010 conference 'Generation alcohol: is drinking damaging childhood?' will take place in London on Tuesday 02 November 2010.

Ethnicity and alcohol: a review of the UK literature and BME workshop presentations

JRF ethnicity and alcohol review

A literature review of evidence on drinking patterns among minority ethnic groups in the UK over the last 15 years and on service provision for this group has been produced by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. See the the report and summary page here.