Prevention and education evidence review: Gambling-related harm

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margo Hilbrecht ◽  
Sally M. Gainsbury ◽  
Nassim Tabri ◽  
Michael J. A. Wohl ◽  
Silas Xuereb ◽  
...  

This report supports an evidence-based approach to the prevention and education objective of the National Strategy to Reduce Harm from Gambling. Applying a public health policy lens, it considers three levels of measures: universal (for the benefit of the whole population), selective (for the benefit of at-risk groups), and indicated (for the benefit of at-risk individuals). Six measures are reviewed by drawing upon a range of evidence in the academic and grey literature. The universal level measures are “Regulatory restriction on how gambling is provided” and “Population-based safer gambling/responsible gambling efforts.” Selective measures focus on age cohorts in a chapter entitled, “Targeted safer gambling campaigns for children, youth, and older adults.” The indicated measures are “Brief internet delivered interventions for gambling,” “Systems and tools that produced actual (‘hard’) barriers and limit access to funds,” and “Self-exclusion.” Since the quantity and quality of the evidence base varied by measure, appropriate review methods were selected to assess publications using a systematic, scoping, or narrative approach. Some measures offered consistent findings regarding the effectiveness of interventions and initiatives, while others were less clear. Unintended consequences were noted since it is important to be aware of unanticipated, negative consequences resulting from prevention and education activities. After reviewing the evidence, authors identified knowledge gaps that require further research, and provided guidance for how the findings could be used to enhance the prevention and education objective. The research evidence is supplemented by consultations with third sector charity representatives who design and implement gambling harm prevention and education programmes. Their insights and experiences enhance, support, or challenge the academic evidence base, and are shared in a separate chapter. Overall, research evidence is limited for many of the measures. Quality assessments suggest that improvements are needed to support policy decisions more fully. Still, opportunities exist to advance evidence-based policy for an effective gambling harm prevention and education plan.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1735
Author(s):  
Stephen Case

The generation of empirical evidence to explain offending by children and young people has been a central driver of criminological and sociological research for more than two centuries. Across the international field of youth justice, empirical research evidence has become an integral means of complementing and extending the knowledge and understanding of offending offered by the official enquiries and data collection of professional stakeholders and an essential tool for informing ‘evidence-based’ policy, practice and ‘effective intervention’. However, it will be argued that the hegemonic empirical evidence-base created by youth justice research over the past two decades has been generated through methodological reductionism - the oversimplification of complexity, the restriction of conceptual lens and the relative exclusion of competing explanatory paradigms and empirical methodologies, which in turn, has reduced the scope and validity of the policy and practice recommendations derived from it.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 308
Author(s):  
Timo Bolt ◽  
F G Huisman

This paper seeks to inform the current debate on an alleged ‘crisis’ and the ‘unintended negative consequences’ of evidence-based medicine (EBM) from a historical perspective. EBM can be placed against the background of a long term process of medical quantification and objectification. This long term process was accompanied by a ‘specificity revolution’, which made the ontological concept of diseases as specific entities the central ordering and regulatory principle in healthcare (as well as in clinical epidemiology and EBM). To a certain extent, the debate about EBM’s alleged crisis can be understood as resulting from this specificity revolution. When the ontological concept of disease is applied too rigidly, this will contribute to ‘negative unintended consequences’ of EBM such as ‘poor mapping of multimorbidity’ and medical practice ‘that is management-driven rather than patient-centered’.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 145-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Joyce ◽  
Wendy Laverick

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the use of spit guards by police forces in the UK and to make recommendations regarding an evidence-based approach to decisions related to the use of such equipment. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based upon an examination of a range of primary source material, secondary sources and grey literature. Findings Although the use of spit guards can be justified by factors that include the need to protect police officers from contracting serious infectious diseases, there are a number of problems that concern ethical policing and human rights. Concerns arise when spit guards are deployed against vulnerable individuals, are used offensively rather than defensively and when such equipment is deployed disproportionately against persons from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities. Additionally, the image of the police may suffer if spit guards are accompanied by the use of excessive force which may be perceived as an abuse of police power. Practical implications The paper makes recommendations that a comprehensive evidence base is required to assist practitioners to make informed decisions regarding the deployment of spit guards. This evidence base should include the extent to which officers are spat at, medical evidence relating to spitting and the transmission of serious diseases, the views of the public concerning the deployment of spit guards and estimations as to whether such equipment will deter spitting by suspects of crime. Originality/value This paper provides an original academic contribution to the ongoing debate on the use of spit guards within policing. In particular, it brings together a wide range of material that relates to this topic and presents it as a coherent set of arguments located in a single source.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e000346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anya Göpfert ◽  
Maria Van Hove ◽  
Alan Emond ◽  
Julie Mytton

BackgroundParticipation in sports as a child improves physical and psychological health. Schools need to promote sport while protecting against injury. It is not clear whether increasing evidence on injury prevention generated from professional sport is influencing school sports practices. This study reviewed policies promoting sport safety in schools to determine whether exposure to injury risk is recognised and whether evidence based prevention and management are included.MethodsA search strategy to identify policies for children aged 4–18 years was applied to electronic databases and grey literature sources. Safeguarding policies were excluded. Included policies were critically appraised and synthesised using modified framework analysis.ResultsTwenty-six policies were analysed. Most (57.7%) were from the USA. Ten (38.5%) focused solely on concussion. Synthesis identified primary, secondary and tertiary injury prevention measures relating to people (staff, students and parents), systems, school physical environment and national-level factors.ConclusionsRobust, evidence-based policies for reducing injury risk in school sports are limited. Guidelines with the largest evidence base were focused on concussion, with other school sport guidelines showing limited inclusion of evidence. Where included, evidence focused on injury management rather than prevention and frequently applied evidence from adult to children. Guidance was not specific to the child’s age, gender or developmental stage.


2015 ◽  
Vol 206 (5) ◽  
pp. 357-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Taylor ◽  
Udayanga Perera

SummaryNational Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline (CG)178 was published in 2014. NICE guidelines occupy an important international position. We argue that CG178 overemphasises the use of cognitive–behavioural therapy for schizophrenia and those ‘at risk’ of psychosis, with recommendations that do not always reflect the evidence base. The CG178 recommendations on medications are limited.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Martin ◽  
Esmée Hanna ◽  
Robert Dingwall

As the Covid-19 crisis deepens, some researchers have argued for the widespread routine use of face masks in community settings, despite acknowledged gaps in the evidence base for the effectiveness of such a measure. We argue that such calls are premature, and risk neglecting important potential harms and negative consequences, known and unknown. We identify potential unintended consequences at multiple levels, from individual-behavioural to macrosocial, and suggest that it is far from clear that the benefits of widespread uptake of face masks, whether encouraged or enforced by public authorities, outweigh the downsides. Finally, we make the case for caution in communicating unequivocal messages about the scientific evidence for face mask use to policy, practitioner and public audiences, given continued scientific disagreement on the question.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-22
Author(s):  
Sebastian Doeltgen

Since the advent of noninvasive brain stimulation (NBS) techniques, rehabilitation sciences have produced a growing body of evidence demonstrating that experimentally induced neuroplastic reorganization may aid the recovery of motor function following brain damage. Emerging evidence suggests that NBS may, in the future, also be useful to aid the recovery of swallowing function, in particular following stroke. This commentary highlights the currently available research and discusses its implications within a framework of evidence-based practice (EBP). It aims to offer some thoughts for consideration relating to the pragmatic conundrum of being urged to implement novel interventions into clinical practice while scientific research is still in the process of building a body of external research evidence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 688-704
Author(s):  
Katrina Fulcher-Rood ◽  
Anny Castilla-Earls ◽  
Jeff Higginbotham

Purpose The current investigation is a follow-up from a previous study examining child language diagnostic decision making in school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The purpose of this study was to examine the SLPs' perspectives regarding the use of evidence-based practice (EBP) in their clinical work. Method Semistructured phone interviews were conducted with 25 school-based SLPs who previously participated in an earlier study by Fulcher-Rood et al. 2018). SLPs were asked questions regarding their definition of EBP, the value of research evidence, contexts in which they implement scientific literature in clinical practice, and the barriers to implementing EBP. Results SLPs' definitions of EBP differed from current definitions, in that SLPs only included the use of research findings. SLPs seem to discuss EBP as it relates to treatment and not assessment. Reported barriers to EBP implementation were insufficient time, limited funding, and restrictions from their employment setting. SLPs found it difficult to translate research findings to clinical practice. SLPs implemented external research evidence when they did not have enough clinical expertise regarding a specific client or when they needed scientific evidence to support a strategy they used. Conclusions SLPs appear to use EBP for specific reasons and not for every clinical decision they make. In addition, SLPs rely on EBP for treatment decisions and not for assessment decisions. Educational systems potentially present other challenges that need to be considered for EBP implementation. Considerations for implementation science and the research-to-practice gap are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara Contreary ◽  
Todd Honeycutt

BACKGROUND: The U.S. government has implemented several programs to reduce federal expenditures on Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) and help beneficiaries return to work, but the limited success of these efforts has raised interest in approaches that help workers with disabilities remain in the workforce. OBJECTIVE: This paper provides information on individuals at risk of applying for DI benefits to help build the evidence base for policies that provide workers with disabilities support to eliminate the need to apply for and receive DI benefits. METHODS: Using three panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation matched to SSA administrative data, we describe the employment characteristics of seven groups at risk of applying for DI benefits before and after application, as well as the outcomes of their DI applications. RESULTS: New private disability insurance recipients were more likely to apply for and receive DI than members of other at-risk groups. However, individuals with high healthcare expenditures made up the largest proportion of successful applicants across the at-risk groups considered here. CONCLUSION: While it seems plausible that individuals within an at-risk group who are likely to apply for DI benefits can be identified and provided supports to help them maintain employment, focusing on a specific group to promote employment over DI benefits may have a limited effect on the DI program because applicants come from multiple groups.


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