Alberta Addiction and Mental Health Blog

• Crack-pipe Controversy

  8/9/2011 4:12:43 AM

  

  InSite, Vancouver’s supervised drug injection clinic, has made headlines recently with the introduction of a new initiative. The Vancouver Health Authority is looking to launch a pilot program to distribute clean crack pipes to people who use drugs. The initiative is similar to needle exchange programs, which provide clean needles to drug users in order to reduce the use and sharing of dirty needles and therefore reducing health risks and disease transmission.

  However, the pipe exchange program is causing debate with some believing that the program conflicts with legal policy and even promotes crack use. Though criticized in the media, what is often missing from the conversation is the direct manner in which the initiative will reduce harms associated with use. And message of the goal to reduce injury due to the use of worn down of makeshift pipes and reduce the spread of HCV through pipe sharing, is often lost in the debate.

  What are you views about the proposed program? Share your opinions at our twitter page or on our blog.

  For more information about this harm reduction strategy, visit http://www.hepcinfo.ca/en/detail/prevention-harm-reduction/safer-crack-smoking.

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  Addiction Illicit Drugs

• Don't take consciousness for granted

  7/7/2011 10:33:59 AM

  After a catastrophic car accident that left him in a coma, Simon Lewis found ways to recover -- physically and mentally -- beyond all expectations. At the INK Conference he tells how this remarkable story led him to concern over all threats to consciousness, and how to overcome them.

• Mental illness or mental skillness?

  6/30/2011 11:00:41 AM

  Mental illness is defined as a “diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria specified by DSM-IV, and that has resulted in functional impairments which substantially interfere with or limit one or more major life activities” (Centre for Mental Health Services, 1993). “The CMHS definition further notes that “functional impairment is defined as difficulties that substantially interfere with or limit role functioning in one or more major life activities including basic daily living skills (e.g., eating, bathing, dressing), instrumental living skills (e.g., managing money, maintaining a household, taking prescribed medication, or functioning in social, family, and vocational/educational contexts) and that adults who would have met the functional impairment criteria during the year without the benefit of treatment or other support services are considered to have a serious mental illness” (Centre for Mental Health Services, 1993). This video the questions the above definitions asking, can we look at mental illness differently? Is mental illness something that limits people, preventing them from functioning or can it in some circumstances be an advantage; is it just a matter of perspective. What do you think? Reference Center for Mental Health Services. (1993, May). (Available from Office of Consumer, Family and Public Information, CMHS, Rockville, MD). Federal Register 58, 96.

• More suicides in the summer? Who knew?

  6/20/2011 2:38:17 PM

  Sun and rain are a part of spring and summer just as cold and snow are winter staples. In the winter, many people notice that the reduced sunlight influences their mental health, and research shows an increase in the rate of depression during this season. But little is reported about the seasonal affects on mental health in the warmer months.

  
  

  Studies confirm that sunlight is an important factor in mental health. So one would assume that increased sunlight (in the spring and summer) results in lower rates of mental disorders and symptoms. Ironically, however the spring and summer months contain the highest suicide rates (Adjacic-Gross et al., 2007). Lambert et al. (2003) found that suicide rates peak in the spring and summer. And although the study was conducted in Australia, the findings are consistent between the western and southern hemispheres.

  
  

  Implicated are the changes that may occur in people's lives during this time. The late summer when students return to school can be a particularly stressful time for youth and young adults and may influence the suicide rates we see (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2006). In light of these findings, it is important for mental health professionals and concerned individuals to pay attention to individuals' suicidal inclinations at all times of the year.

  
  

  For more information about suicide in Canada, visit the Centre for Suicide Prevention web site or the Canadian Mental Health Association web site.

  
  

  References

  Ajdacic-Gross, V., Lauber, C., Sansossio, R., Bopp, M., Eich, D., Gostynski, F., & Rossler, W. (2007). Seasonal Association between weather conditions and suicide – evidences against a classic hypothesis. American Journal of Epidemiology, 165(5), 561-569.

  Canadian Mental Health Association. (2006). Suicide statistics. Retrieved June 20, 2011 from http://www.ontario.cmha.ca/fact_sheets.asp?cID=3965

  Lambert, G. Reid, C., Kaye, D., Jennings, G., & Esler, M. (2003). Increased suicide rate in the middle-aged and its association with hours of sunlight. American Psychiatric Association, 160, 793-795.

  Suicide

• New report shows increased drug use and social harms in Edmonton

  6/16/2011 11:18:25 AM

  

  In May 2011, Alberta Health Services released the I-Track Report, a review of risk behaviours among people who inject drugs in Edmonton. The survey, which occurred between April and May 2005 and in June 2008, examines drug use, sexual behaviours, and the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections.

  The report shows that in Alberta, Edmonton had the highest rate of newly reported HIV and hepatitis C infections between 1998 and 2006 (Alberta Health Services, 2011, p.1). The rate of injection drug use increased by nearly 8% in the same period and contributed to the increased infection rates. Alternatively, condom use decreased between the two survey periods from 51.9% in 2005 to 32.9% in 2008.

  The researchers noted an increase in prescription drug use as opposed to street drugs, more specifically increased oxycodone injection. The majority of people who used injection drugs disposed of their drugs in drop-boxes and needle exchange sites, while only 1.6% disposed of them in public places. Non-injection drug use also increased; crack cocaine use increased from 22.2% to 41.4%.

  Two-thirds of the survey participants did not have their own homes, with 28.6% living on the street in 2008. And the rate of street dwellers had doubled since 2005. Two-thirds of the participants had experienced abuse at some point in their lives. 60.4% of the respondents had experienced emotional abuse, 59.1% physical abuse, 46.4% neglect, and 46.4% sexual abuse. “In all categories of abuse, females reported experiencing abuse more often than male participants” (Alberta Health Services, 2011, p. 15).

  The findings provide a picture of the current trends in risk behaviours in Edmonton and implications for health determinants within the region.

  For more information about the findings, see the I-Track Report. For more information on injection drug use in Edmonton, see the harm reduction presentation, and Injection drug use in Edmontion Inner City report.

   

  Homeless Drug abuse Addiction Sex

• Mental health of disaster survivors

  5/24/2011 9:41:38 AM

  
  
  Imagine waking up in darkness. You look at the clock on the nightstand, but it's not on. You get out of bed and turn on the light switch; you flip it up and down but there's no light. The power's out. You're eyes feel dry and burn and you smell smoke. You run into the hall to find where it's coming from. As you run past the window, a bright light catches your eye. Getting closer you think the neighbour's house is on fire. You put on your jacket and run outside for a closer look.

  
  

  Smoke surrounds and disorients you, and you're confused by it's thickness. Coughing, you join a crowd gathering in the oddly lit street. Sirens blare and you feel relieved that help is on it's way, but you wonder why they haven't reached your area when you live in such a small town. Turning in the direction of the sirens you notice it's not the neighbour's house but an entire row of houses on the opposite street and the trees behind them. You turn to a man in the crowd and ask what happened. He stares at you with a blank expression on his face and says "the forest is on fire."

  
  

  Natural disasters occur almost daily, so much so that many people become desensitized by reports of the economic toll and loss of life. But seldom do we hear about the the mental and emotional effects these events have on the people who live through them.

  "Whether by earthquake or tsunami, nuclear mishap or transportation, mass shooting or bombing attack, disasters have in common a collective social suffering that requires a supreme effort by individuals, communities, and even entire societies to overcome. They are events that challenge the individual's capacity for adaptation, which can lead to the onset of a range of adverse mental health outcomes, including serious post-traumatic psychopathologies.

  These may often persist for a very long time after the event and represent a further burden to individuals whose physical and emotional resources have already been depleted by their losses" (Davidson & McFarlane, 2006, p. 9).

  
  In the wake of the recent fires in Slave Lake it is important to provide emotional and mental health services to those rebuilding their lives after experiencing the trauma of this disaster. For more resources on coping with disasters or traumatic events, visit the Centre for Disease Control web site.

  
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  Mental Health