As you all know, the current COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected various populations globally. The International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) believes that the impact of this pandemic on people struggling with Substance Use Disorders could not be overlooked. Thus they decided to take this opportunity to hold a series of webinars with partners from different parts of the world, discussing challenges and solutions regarding the current pandemic from the addiction medicine perspective. The objective of these webinars is to support colleagues in the field of addiction medicine to...

Current world circumstances provoke multifaceted reflections on science from different standpoints correspondent to the complexity of reality. The relevance of scientific research to face threats such as COVID-19 is clear. Thanks to science, soon, the vaccines developed in record time will be instrumental on our way out of the pandemic. Once again, humanity demonstrates that global challenges demand everyone’s cooperation. Science is the ultimate collective endeavor, and its beneficial results help us generate solutions for everyday life and answer the great mysteries of the universe.

Abstract

The present study examines the trajectories of unhealthy food and alcohol consumption over time and considers whether perceived impact of COVID-19 and psychological variables are predictors of these trajectories. We ascertained whether these predictors are different in women vs. men and between women living with vs. without children. Data were collected through online surveys administered to 1038 participants from two universities (staff and students) in Chile, across five waves (July to October 2020). Participants provided information about their past-week unhealthy food and...

Source: https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/13745/TD0321143ENN_002.pdf

Summary

Since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the way we live, with European countries having to introduce unprecedented measures to protect public health. As with all areas of life, drug consumption, related harms and drug markets have been impacted, as have the services established to respond to drug-related problems. During the first weeks of the pandemic, the EMCDDA instigated two rapid assessment studies to identify the initial impact and implications of...

Abstract

Telehealth has become an increasingly important part of health care delivery, with a dramatic rise in telehealth visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth visits will continue to be a part of care delivery after the pandemic subsides, and it is important that medical students receive training in telehealth skills to meet emerging telehealth competencies. This paper describes strategies for successfully integrating medical students into telehealth visits in the ambulatory setting based on existing literature and the extensive experience of the authors teaching and...

The report “Alcohol and the coronavirus pandemic: individual, societal and policy perspectives” is the latest research publication in the series “Alcohol and Society” that has been published since 2013 to annually collate the latest evidence about alcohol’s harm on people and society.

It is the hope that this report will help increase knowledge and awareness of alcohol-related risks in connection with both this and future pandemics, both in purely physical terms – in that alcohol weakens the immune system – as well as increased risk of the spread of infection, due to alcohol’s effect on...

Hendree Jones, Professor UNC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Executive Director UNC Horizons presents on work developed in summer 2020 regarding helping parents cope.

The fight against COVID-19 continues throughout the U.S., increasing stress and anguish among vulnerable populations struggling with substance use. Among those vulnerable populations, pregnant women present major concerns as they face an increase in adversity during the wake of the global pandemic.

It is a difficult time for everyone, especially those facing more adversities such as pregnant women. Health providers and mental health providers must be highly vigilant in caring for pregnant women and should consider providing the following tools and resources, according to American Society of...

Topics discussed:

• Experiencing Covid 19 and the lockdown - psychological effects of the pandemic.
• Psychological support services available.
• Delivery of support services available - how and who.
• What and how we can do better.

Thanks to:

Dr Miriam Cue from Phillipines

Dr Riza Sarasvita from Indonesia

Dr Danai Indrakamhaeng from Thailand

Cindy Biding from Malaysia

Dato' Zainuddin Bahari from Malaysia