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1 – 10 of over 2000Talita Cristiele Gomes Vieira, Luana Alves Ciriaco, Silvana Silva Santos, Gabriel Lucas de Souza and Polibio José de Campos Souza
This article aims to analyze the incorporation of harm reduction health workers with lived experience in all services focused on the care for drug users in Belo Horizonte’s mental…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to analyze the incorporation of harm reduction health workers with lived experience in all services focused on the care for drug users in Belo Horizonte’s mental health network, one of the largest Brazilian Psychosocial Care Networks (Rede de Atenção Psicossocial [RAPS]), and reports the findings of a qualitative study on the life stories, recovery journeys and the professional practice of harm reducers in Belo Horizonte.
Design/methodology/approach
For the development of this research, the authors chose the following methodological tools: documentary research; follow-up of harm reduction interventions; access to harm reducers’ field diaries; joint writing of the life stories of the harm reducers.
Findings
It indicates that these professionals, as harm reducers empowered by their life experience, have developed various elements and active ingredients of peer support. Their practices and the results of their actions have consolidated their inclusion as Belo Horizonte RAPS’ health workers and highlight that recovery-oriented care and peer support are a real possibility in Brazil.
Originality/value
In this research, harm reducers are coauthors and report their own life experience. In this article, they also talk about the impact of this experience on their work and on the lives of users of mental health services, emphasizing the protagonism and exercise of citizenship by harm reducers.
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The Canadian government legalized cannabis in 2018 and funded harm reduction campaigns to educate youth about the risks. Cannabis can contribute to psychosis in vulnerable…
Abstract
Purpose
The Canadian government legalized cannabis in 2018 and funded harm reduction campaigns to educate youth about the risks. Cannabis can contribute to psychosis in vulnerable populations, and consumption is common among youth in Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) programs. The purpose of this study is to understand the views of youth in EPI programs on the risks related to cannabis and methods to reduce those risks.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative design and thematic analysis were used to understand the perspectives of youth in EPI programs (n = 15) towards cannabis risks and harm reduction.
Findings
Participants associated Δ−9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) with problems related to cognition, psychosis, respiration, addiction, motivation, finances, relationships and anxiety. Cannabidiol (CBD) was believed to be safe and risk-free. To reduce the risks associated with THC, participants suggested using in moderation, delaying use, using CBD over THC, accessing legal sources, avoiding high THC dosages and using non-combustible methods.
Research limitations/implications
Participants self-selected to participate, were psychiatrically stable and may not represent youth in EPI programs with more severe psychotic symptoms.
Practical implications
Assessing risk perceptions, motives for use and perspectives towards the cannabis and psychosis connection can reveal educational needs. CBD may offer a harm reduction option for EPI clients wanting to decrease THC intake, though more research is needed and adverse effects should be explained. Educational campaigns should disseminate the connection between cannabis and psychosis to facilitate early intervention.
Originality/value
This study adds to the literature by highlighting knowledge of harm reduction methods and gaps in risk awareness among EPI program youth.
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Tomasz Jerzyński and Gerry V. Stimson
Nicotine is consumed by one in five of the global adult population, mostly by smoking tobacco cigarettes. Modern electronic cigarettes came onto the market from around 2007 and…
Abstract
Purpose
Nicotine is consumed by one in five of the global adult population, mostly by smoking tobacco cigarettes. Modern electronic cigarettes came onto the market from around 2007 and have considerable potential to improve population health by displacing tobacco smoking. The purpose of this study is to map the use of e-cigarettes, but this is difficult due to absence of data sources for many countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The global number of vapers was estimated to be 68 million in 2020. New data in 2021 offered an opportunity to update that estimate. The method of assumed similarity was used for countries with missing data. The average prevalence of vaping was calculated for each World Health Organization region, World Bank income classification group and the legal status of e-cigarettes in each country. The number of vapers was calculated for the adult population. The estimate was refined by adjusting for changes in market value size and the actual year of surveys.
Findings
Population prevalence data on e-cigarette used were available for 48 countries. We estimate that there were 82 million vapers worldwide in 2021: 9.2 million in the Eastern Mediterranean region; 5.6 million in the African region; 20.1 million in the European region; 16.8 million in the Americas; 16.0 million in the Western Pacific region; and 14.3 million in South-East Asia.
Originality/value
Global, regional and national estimates of the numbers of vapers are important indicators of trends in nicotine use, and monitoring the uptake of vaping is important to inform international and national policy.
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This study aims to illustrate how collaborative platforms may leverage active community for climate change adaptation to implement biodiversity preservation policies.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to illustrate how collaborative platforms may leverage active community for climate change adaptation to implement biodiversity preservation policies.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts the Dynamic Performance Governance methodological framework to analyze the causal relationships affecting biodiversity preservation policy outcomes.
Findings
Active community reduces harmful factors for biodiversity (i.e. biological threats and anthropogenic pressure), limiting the risk of extinction of perennial plants. Stakeholders’ prior knowledge is an enabling condition of climate adaptation processes as it triggers the adoption of prescriptions and cultural changes in a community.
Practical implications
The study provides methodological guidance to define measures to deliver material information to support environmental performance governance. It elaborates an inventory of short- and long-term performance indicators integrating natural-science targets into accounting measures that can support policymakers operating in other contexts to implement climate change adaptation policies.
Social implications
As a response to the study findings, social implications provide insights into how active community in collaborative platforms for climate change may support stakeholders to address natural resources imbalances, define strategies to share the burden among them and intervene on multiple policy domains (e.g. financial, environmental and social).
Originality/value
Climate change adaptation challenges are conceptualized as “super wicked problems,” and the collaborative platforms designed to address them are rendered as complex adaptive systems. This makes the paper go beyond traditional environmental governance, demonstrating that stakeholders’ interactions within collaborative platforms harness active community specialized knowledge.
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Lam Hong Lan and Jerry Watkins
The purpose of this paper is to identify opportunities and challenges for small- to medium-sized pre-owned fashion enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam. While recent studies have…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify opportunities and challenges for small- to medium-sized pre-owned fashion enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam. While recent studies have identified the growth of pre-owned fashion in developed economies, pre-owned clothing remains negatively associated by some consumers with overseas charity donations of second-hand clothes to Vietnam, following the economic upheaval of the 1980s.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data were collected via semi-structured in-depth interviews with founders and/or owners of pre-owned fashion SMEs (n = 5, aged 25–40 years) with physical stores located in Ho Chi Minh City alongside online retail platforms. All interviewees are significant industry and consumer influencers.
Findings
Younger Vietnamese consumers are motivated by (1) pre-owned fashion's value for money compared to buying new western branded luxury items and (2) the ability of pre-owned and vintage fashion to allow the wearer to create a unique personal style. While Vietnamese consumers and retailers associate “sustainable fashion” with various, often unrelated concepts, the impact of global and local discourse around sustainable fashion in the last five years has generally supported wider interest in pre-owned fashion.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the relatively modest pool of English-language research on the fashion and textiles industry in Vietnam, a global fast-fashion manufacturing hub. The findings advance understanding of how pre-owned fashion is growing as a high-end niche market despite significant supply chain restrictions as well as a lingering perception of pre-owned fashion as charitable donations.
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Matthew David Phillips, Rhian Parham, Katrina Hunt and Jake Camp
Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) have overlapping symptom profiles. Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is an established treatment for…
Abstract
Purpose
Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) have overlapping symptom profiles. Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is an established treatment for self-harm and BPD, but little research has investigated the outcomes of DBT for ASC populations. This exploratory service evaluation aims to investigate the outcomes of a comprehensive DBT programme for adolescents with a diagnosis of emerging BPD and a co-occurring ASC diagnosis as compared to those without an ASC diagnosis.
Design/methodology/approach
Differences from the start to end of treatment in the frequency of self-harming behaviours, BPD symptoms, emotion dysregulation, depression, anxiety, the number of A&E attendances and inpatient bed days, education and work status, and treatment non-completion rates were analysed for those with an ASC diagnosis, and compared between those with an ASC diagnosis and those without.
Findings
Significant medium to large reductions in self-harming behaviours, BPD symptoms, emotion dysregulation and inpatient bed days were found for those with an ASC diagnosis by the end of treatment. There were no significant differences between those with an ASC and those without in any outcome or in non-completion rates. These findings indicate that DBT may be a useful treatment model for those with an ASC diagnosis, though all results are preliminary and require replication.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to report the outcomes of a comprehensive DBT programme for adolescents with an ASC diagnosis, and to compare the changes in outcomes between those with a diagnosis and those without.
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Rose Rosemary Ricciardelli, Matthew S. Johnston and Katharina Maier
Prisonersare at disproportionate risk of suffering substance-related harms. The administration of naloxone is essential to reversing opioid overdose and minimizing…
Abstract
Purpose
Prisonersare at disproportionate risk of suffering substance-related harms. The administration of naloxone is essential to reversing opioid overdose and minimizing substance-related harms in prison and the community. The purpose of this study is to examine how naloxone administration is practiced and perceived in prison settings.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted surveys with correctional workers in Manitoba, Canada (n = 257) to examine how they understand and feel about the need for and practice of administering naloxone in their everyday work with criminalized populations.
Findings
Respondents reported feeling a great need to administer naloxone, but most did not feel adequately trained to administer naloxone, creating the perception that criminalized populations remain at enhanced risk.
Originality/value
Findings provide emerging evidence of the need for training and accompanying policies and procedures for correctional workers on how to access and administer naloxone.
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Yiu Ming Ng, Barak Ariel and Vincent Harinam
A growing body of literature focuses on crime hotspots; however, less is known about the spatial distribution of crime at mass transit systems, and even less is known about…
Abstract
Purpose
A growing body of literature focuses on crime hotspots; however, less is known about the spatial distribution of crime at mass transit systems, and even less is known about trajectory patterns of hotspots in non-English-speaking countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The spatiotemporal behaviour of 1,494 crimes reported to the Hong Kong’s Railway Police District across a two-year period was examined in this study. Crime harm weights were then applied to offences to estimate the distribution of crime severity across the transit system. Descriptive statistics are used to understand the temporal and spatial trends, and k-means longitudinal clustering are used to examine the developmental trajectories of crime in train stations over time.
Findings
Analyses suggest that 15.2% and 8.8% of stations accounted for 50% of all counted crime and crime harm scores, respectively, indicating the predictability of crime and harm to occur at certain stations but not others. Offending persists consistently, with low, moderate and high counts and harm stations remaining the same over time.
Research limitations/implications
These findings suggest that more localised crime control initiatives are required to target crime effectively.
Originality/value
This is one of the only studies focusing on hotspots and harmspots in the mass transit system.
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Hannah Pitt, Simone McCarthy and Samantha Thomas
Gambling is well-recognised as a significant public health threat. However, current responses to gambling still primarily focus on individualised responsible gambling paradigms…
Abstract
Gambling is well-recognised as a significant public health threat. However, current responses to gambling still primarily focus on individualised responsible gambling paradigms, which neglects to consider the range of commercial and political determinants that contribute to gambling harm and how it might influence young people's gambling attitudes and consumption intentions. This includes the marketing tactics used by the gambling industry to normalise harmful gambling products as embedded in everyday life, including in sport. Young people have demonstrated an in-depth gambling brand awareness and can even recall specific strategies used in gambling advertising that might appeal to children. There have been continuous calls for action to protect children and young people from the commercial marketing of gambling products from a range of stakeholders, including young people and their parents. Young people and their parents are very supportive of increased regulations on gambling advertising, particularly during sport, and have called for sporting teams and codes to reject sponsorship deals with gambling companies. However, a heavy reliance on industry self-regulation has meant that governments across the world have decided that the costs associated with exposing children and young people to pervasive gambling marketing are outweighed by perceived benefits that gambling provides to businesses benefiting financially from gambling. Comprehensive curbs on marketing, as seen in tobacco, are required to significantly reduce young people's exposure to gambling advertising and ultimately prevent the next generation of harm.
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