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drinkanddrugsnews
| February 2015
Technology
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
T
he first time I was about to step into an alcohol service, I was
petrified. I asked myself questions such as, ‘What will I find behind
the doors? Will people be drunk? Will they be nice to me?’ As I
entered through the heavy wooden door, I smelt the disinfectant and
my anxieties heightened. The door slammed behind me with another
door in front of me. Welcome to the ‘airlock’. Behind the glass to my right was a
worker, the scene akin to stepping into a secure facility. The friendly worker
asked me what I had come for. I explained that this was my first day at work as
an alcohol nurse specialist.
Once inside, I was met with energy and empathy from staff towards service-
users and enthusiasm for specialism of the field of addiction. My first
impressions of the ‘airlock’ nevertheless raised a question: if I was scared to
enter this building, how can we expect those that need our support to overcome
the fear they feel on entering our services?
There are many reasons why people may not seek support with their
drinking. The stigma of entering an alcohol service remains a major one. We
know that despite the high numbers excessively drinking, the majority of people
at risk of alcohol-related harm are not accessing services. In its 2013 publication,
15:15 the better case for access to alcohol treatment
, Alcohol Concern highlighted
that only 6 per cent of dependent drinkers are in contact with treatment services
at any one time. Retention is also a problem, with national and international
statistics indicating that 40–60 per cent of people who enter alcohol treatment
services drop out within as little as two sessions. If we want to achieve the
Department of Health’s alcohol needs assessment research project benchmark of
engaging 15 per cent of the problem drinkers in a given area in treatment, then
alcohol services must not only deliver high quality specialist support but also
find innovative approaches to reaching risky drinkers.
IS TECHNOLOGY THE ANSWER?
Telehealth technology is increasingly being looked to as a way to reach people
with all sorts of health advice, information and support, with the most
promising option offered by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). But what of the
‘therapeutic alliance’ and that magic ingredient, rapport, I hear you say? VoIP has
been proven to be on par with face-to-face contact in terms of the quality of
human interaction (Roberts, Vlahovic, Dunbar 2013).
The acceptance of telehealth solutions to alcohol misuse and other health issues
should not be a surprise, with the general population spending more and more time
online. Last year, Ofcom reported that ‘we're now spending more time using media
or communications than sleeping.’With so many people having access to the internet
and becoming increasingly comfortable with its use, there is a real opportunity for
alcohol treatment providers to take alcohol interventions to an online audience.
Entering alcohol services can feel like a trap to
the uninitiated.
Mark Holmes
, looks at why
technology may offer more people the support
they need to make changes to their drinking
Avoiding t
‘Behind the glass to my
right was a worker, the
scene akin to stepping
into a secure facility.
The friendly worker
asked me what I had
come for. I explained
that this was my first
day at work as an
alcohol nurse specialist.’