scholarly journals Learning from Ontario’s municipal drug strategies: an implementation framework for reducing harm through coordinated prevention, enforcement, treatment, and housing

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Anthony Piscitelli

Since 2001, when Vancouver completed its integrated drug strategy, other Canadian municipalities have begun to explore their role in addressing addictions issues. This article reviews reports from ten municipal drug strategies written in the Canadian province of Ontario to develop recommendations for practitioners wishing to implement their own drug strategy. Note that this paper’s focus is on implementation, and it does not seek to evaluate the underlying clinical practices involved in such strategies. All published reports from 10 municipal drug strategies in Ontario released between 2005 and 2015 were read and analyzed using thematic analysis. Similarities are found between the different strategies approaches to data gathering, the vision statements, the mission statements, and the principles of service. Each municipality was also found to focus on four pillars: prevention, treatment, enforcement, and harm reduction. Some municipalities added an additional pillar: integration, sustaining relationships, or housing. These pillars were used to frame the strategies recommendations. Ten questions for municipalities to consider in their own drug strategy consultations are recommended.

Author(s):  
Harald Klingemann ◽  
Justyna Klingemann

Abstract. Introduction: While alcohol treatment predominantly focuses on abstinence, drug treatment objectives include a variety of outcomes related to consumption and quality of life. Consequently harm reduction programs tackling psychoactive substances are well documented and accepted by practitioners, whereas harm reduction programs tackling alcohol are under-researched and met with resistance. Method: The paper is mainly based on key-person interviews with eight program providers conducted in Switzerland in 2009 and up-dated in 2015, and the analysis of reports and mission statements to establish an inventory and description of drinking under control programs (DUCPs). A recent twin program in Amsterdam and Essen was included to exemplify conditions impeding their implementation. Firstly, a typology based on the type of alcohol management, the provided support and admission criteria is developed, complemented by a detailed description of their functioning in practice. Secondly, the case studies are analyzed in terms of factors promoting and impeding the implementation of DUCPs and efforts of legitimize them and assess their success. Results: Residential and non-residential DUCPs show high diversity and pursue individualized approaches as the detailed case descriptions exemplify. Different modalities of proactively providing and including alcohol consumption are conceptualized in a wider framework of program objectives, including among others, quality of life and harm reduction. Typically DUCPs represent an effort to achieve public or institutional order. Their implementation and success are contingent upon their location, media response, type of alcohol management and the response of other substance-oriented stake holders in the treatment system. The legitimization of DUCPs is hampered by the lack of evaluation studies. DUCPs rely mostly – also because of limited resources – on rudimentary self-evaluations and attribute little importance to data collection exercises. Conclusions: Challenges for participants are underestimated and standard evaluation methodologies tend to be incompatible with the rationale and operational objectives of DUCPs. Program-sensitive multimethod approaches enabled by sufficient financing for monitoring and accompanying research is needed to improve the practice-oriented implementation of DUCPs. Barriers for these programs include assumptions that ‘alcohol-assisted’ help abandons hope for recovery and community response to DUCPs as locally unwanted institutions (‘not in my backyard’) fuelled by stigmatization.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Raquel María Bulgarelli-Bolaños ◽  
José Antonio Rivera-Rodríguez ◽  
Manuel Arturo Fallas-Vargas

This article is based on an investigation whose main purpose was to analyze students’ vocational development in statuses of achievement and academic lagging in Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Chemistry at the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, during 2014, by implementing Donald Super’s evolutionary approach. A naturalist paradigm, a design of collective case studies of four people (two students from each academic status), four data gathering tools (in-depth interviews, semi-structured interviews, in-depth discussion meetings, and observation), and the categorical thematic analysis method were applied. It was found that there are differences in the vocational process of the four cases studied when referring to one academic status or the other, where the category of achievement is more leaning trend to a better vocational performance, even though it is not a predictor of this; while the academic lagging presents more difficulties in its different vocational stages. Therefore, it is recommended not to neglect academic, vocational and personal-social support to any of both populations, considering their particularities related to the specific vocational processes and the evaluations they carry out during the career. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly-Ann Allen ◽  
Margaret L. Kern ◽  
Dianne Vella-Brodrick ◽  
Lea Waters

Purpose: The vision or mission statement of a school outlines the school’s purpose and defines the context, goals, and aspirations that govern the institution. Using vision and mission statements, the present descriptive research study investigated trends in Australian secondary schools’ priorities. Research Methods: A stratified sample of secondary school vision and mission statements across 308 schools from government, independent, and Catholic sectors in Victoria, Australia, was analyzed using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Findings: Academic achievement was the most common theme, with school belonging and mental health promotion themes cited by over half of the schools. School belonging was emphasized more often by Catholic schools compared with independent and government schools, and by rural schools compared with urban schools. Implications: Australian schools are seemingly adopting a dual purpose: to be academic institutions and well-being enhancing institutions. Understanding the priorities of schools using vision and mission statements may guide researchers, administrators, and teachers about how to better meet the academic and psychological needs of the students. The priorities of schools also have implications for how research in this area is communicated to schools, and this study provides a method for capturing these priorities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-31
Author(s):  
Tony Whitley

Christian leadership resources focus on the alignment of individual efforts toward shared goals, attempting to capitalize on the proven benefits of “team” performance. Research in social psychology highlights the emotional impact of language in the crafting of mission and vision statements, which could lead to the success or failure of alignment efforts. This article assimilates research from social psychologists with existing team and organizational theory and distills the principles into usable material for church leadership. The review and assimilation of new data validate the known values of “team,” while offering insight into the development of goals and the crafting of vision and mission statements.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie McCartney ◽  
Hugh McGovern ◽  
Alexander De Foe

Research on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances is rapidly expanding. A major limitation within this field is the unpredictability of individual responses to psychedelic substances. A better understanding of factors that can predict psychedelic experience is essential to both clinical progress and wider harm reduction frameworks. Ketamine, MDMA, LSD and psilocybin were selected for comparison due to their promising therapeutic effects and different mechanisms of action. The current study aimed to (a) identify factors that predict both positive and adverse psychedelic experience, and (b) compare these predictors across the four psychedelic substances. A thematic analysis was conducted on twenty-four subjective, first-person reports of psychedelic use (six per substance), sourced from the Erowid online database. The analysis revealed three external predictors (nature, music and preparation) and three internal predictors (understanding, mindset and motivation). Each predictor contained two sub-themes that further elucidated their meaning and impact. Nature and music emerged as potential tools for de-escalating adverse reactions to psychedelics, which was a novel finding. A comparison between substances further revealed that these predictors actually had different impacts, depending on the substance being taken. Finally, the importance of, and interrelationship between, preparation, mindset, understanding and motivation was made clear. The broader clinical and sociological implications of this were discussed, with particular reference to developing harm reduction frameworks. As psychedelic therapy and research continues to gain momentum, these findings constitute an early step in developing a more nuanced understanding of the factors shaping psychedelic experience.


Author(s):  
Emilie R. Macleod ◽  
Iren Tajbakhsh ◽  
Sarah Hamilton-Wright ◽  
Nancy Laliberte ◽  
Jessica L. Wiese ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Amid increasing opioid overdose deaths in Canada since 2010 and a changing naloxone access landscape, there is a need for up-to-date research on Canadian women’s experiences with opioids. Studies on Canadian take-home naloxone programs are promising, but research beyond these programs is limited. Our study is the first to focus on women’s experiences and perspectives on the opioid crisis in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, since the opioid crisis began in 2010. Objective Our objective was to address research knowledge gaps involving Canadian women with criminal justice involvement who use opioids, and identify flaws in current policies, responses, and practices. While the opioid overdose crisis persists, this lack of research inhibits our ability to determine whether overdose prevention efforts, especially involving naloxone, are meeting their needs. Methods We conducted semi-structured, qualitative interviews from January to April 2018 with 10 women with experience of opioid use. They were recruited through the study’s community partner in Toronto. Participants provided demographic information, experiences with opioids and naloxone, and their perceptions of the Canadian government’s responses to the opioid crisis. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and inductive thematic analysis was conducted to determine major themes within the data. Results Thematic analysis identified seven major concerns despite significant differences in participant life and opioid use experiences. Participants who had used illicit opioids since naloxone became available over-the-counter in 2016 were much more knowledgeable about naloxone than participants who had only used opioids prior to 2016. The portability, dosage form, and effects of naloxone are important considerations for women who use opioids. Social alienation, violence, and isolation affect the wellbeing of women who use opioids. The Canadian government’s response to the opioid crisis was perceived as inadequate. Participants demonstrated differing needs and views on ideal harm reduction approaches, despite facing similar structural issues surrounding stigma, addiction management, and housing. Conclusions Participants experienced with naloxone use found it to be useful in preventing fatal overdose, however many of their needs with regards to physical, mental, and social health, housing, harm reduction, and access to opioid treatment remained unmet.


Author(s):  
Muammer Bezirgan

The purpose of the present study is to analyze the website-declared vision and mission statements of 149 five-star hotels in the largest cities of Turkey, Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, based on certain criteria. The outcomes of the research indicated that only 24% of the hotels had a mission statement and 21% had a vision statement. Hotels with the least number of statements were those in Istanbul (17%). It was determined that hotels provided highly limited information on the product/market area component in their mission statements (19%). Moreover, it was determined that although hotels fully reflected their basic ideology in vision statements, almost half of them (48%) failed to place an emphasis on the future in their statements.


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