Findings bulletins: brief interventions implementation, improving mental health and SUD care, residential evidence & more

Recent bulletins from the Findings drug and alcohol bank:

Major trial of ways to extend brief alcohol interventions

Could combinations of three strategies – training and support, financial reimbursement, and the opportunity to refer patients to a website – effectively and cost-effectively boost delivery of brief alcohol interventions in five European countries, including England? The aim was to find the best way to narrow the gap in primary care between the number of patients who could benefit from these interventions and those who receive them. An important trial whose findings we analyse in depth, and for which we have updated our analysis of the cost-effectiveness findings.

What would better mental health and substance use care look like?

According to Public Health England, better care begins with commissioners and service providers adopting the principles that there is ‘no wrong door’ for accessing support, and it is ‘everyone’s job’ the other side of the door to help. Now added to the Effectiveness Bank, a 2017 guide for supporting people with co-occurring mental health and substance use problems.

Is the evidence for residential treatment getting better?

Though billed as one of the great hopes for recovery by UK governments, the evidence base for residential treatment has been underwhelming. A new review asks whether enough high-quality evidence has accumulated over the past five years to improve confidence in the effectiveness of residential treatment for people with substance use problems.

Can new digital technologies facilitate contingency management?

Compared with supervised breathalyser tests, remote monitoring of drinking reduces the burden on everyone involved. Is this enough to help overcome obstacles to implementing interventions that incentivise abstinence?