News

Resources for the Prevention & Treatment of Substance Use Disorders

The global burden of disease attributable to alcohol and illicit drug use amounts to 5.4% of the total burden of disease. Effective interventions and strategies exist to prevent and treat substance use disorders. The Global Information System on Resources for the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Use Disorders maps and monitors health system resources at the country level to respond to the health problems due to substance use. Data from 147 countries (88% of the world population), collected in 2008, show that the main location for treatment of substance use disorders is the specialist substance abuse system, followed by the mental health system, the general health system, and primary care...

Manuals for the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) and the ASSIST-linked brief interventions

The World Health Organization has launched the ASSIST package developed to help the health professionals to detect and manage hazardous and harmful use of psychoactive substances in health care settings. This package also includes a guide developed to assist patients who are at risk because of their substance use to weigh up their substance use behavior and to change it using self-help strategies...