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March 2013 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 21
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Information campaign
Promotional feature
In 2012 it was estimated that 95,000
people across England and Wales had
illicitly used opiates in the past year.
Approximately 47,000 of them had taken heroin (Home
Office, 2013), which remains one of the most frequently
listed drugs by the majority of patients seeking drug
dependency treatment (NTA, 2013). As such, the
ongoing need for quality information on opioid
dependence and the options to tackle it continue to
drive
My Recovery My Choice
, an important awareness
campaign seeking to address these issues and
empower people affected by opioid drug addiction.
The sixth annual
DDN
service user conference,
Be the
Change
, marked the first anniversary of this highly visual
outreach initiative and a further opportunity to share a
powerful resource. Since last year’s launch, the campaign
has become established as a highly valued information
source. Developed in consultation with The Alliance and
a number of other key groups,
My Recovery My Choice
is
now endorsed by 15 national drug support organisations
including CRI, Addaction, Adfam and the Scottish Drugs
Forum. The programme is looking to extend its outreach
through collaborative development of content relating to
keeping healthy, hepatitis C infection and alcohol use.
The focus remains to provide those affected with
meaningful information and non-judgemental support to
help them decide what, if any, steps they might consider
taking in their own personal recovery.
The campaign’s website feedback shows that more
than 80 per cent of respondents feel better informed
about opioid dependence and more confident about
treatment decisions. Using clear language and sharing
genuine patient and family member experiences, the site
offers a range of supporting materials which are freely
available for any organisation or group that has contact
with the drug-using community. Nearly 60,000 materials,
including booklets, posters, postcards, leaflets and wallet
cards, have been distributed across the UK with nearly a
third of orders coming from national health services.
In the past 12 months,
My Recovery My Choice
has
visited 14 key recovery conferences across the UK to
engage with its peer community. Excitingly, our
endorsing partners have welcomed the opportunity to
represent the campaign at conferences and engage
additional local user groups.
The focus of the campaign evolves from the belief
that it is a person’s right to decide if and when they
want treatment and it provides a detailed overview of
all of the treatment options available and how they can
be accessed. Furthermore, in recognition that people
want and need different approaches and outcomes on
their recovery journey, information is given on
psychological therapies, rehab, detox and
complementary therapy. The campaign also recognises
that it is not only the drug user who is affected by
heroin use, as friends and family members often
struggle with the knowledge that their loved one is
heroin dependent.
T
o date, the campaign has been
credited with outstanding feedback:
‘The most important drug resource in the
UK today.’
‘A great resource for people with concerns
about their own or a friend/family
member’s addiction, and great advice for
those looking to enter drug treatment.’
‘Good to see such a balanced approach.’
‘I’ll be commending this to all my colleagues
for dissemination through their services,
indeed to pretty much anyone.’
The campaign takes a refreshing approach to the
notion of recovery, providing tips on how to improve
chances of success, as well as background information
on how work, benefits or childcare may be affected and
providing confidence for each person’s journey.
Similarly, the campaign describes rights in treatment
and what can be expected from health services.
Through recognition of these values, London’s Biggest
Conversation (LBC Radio 97.3) interviewed Ken
Stringer, chief executive of The Alliance, on how to
‘assist people to make the best use of treatment’ and
the support available to opioid-dependent users.
My Recovery My Choice
is an evolving initiative and
we are always looking to develop and improve the
campaign. If you have any suggestions on improvements
that can be made to the site or have a story that you
would like to share, we would love to hear from you.
If you are part of a community drug organisation
and would like to represent My Recovery My Choice
at a conference in England, Wales and or Scotland,
please get in touch. Similarly, if you would like to
endorse the campaign with a logo or backlink to the
website, please email
mrmc@pcmscientific.com
The information on My Recovery My Choice is for
educational purposes only and should not be a
substitute for the advice of a medical professional.
The website and related materials were produced by
PCM Scientific (a medical education company) and
the Alliance, who redrafted a set of internationally
available materials to make them suitable for the UK.
Undertaken in consultation with other partners, this
is an ongoing process. The creation of these
materials was made possible through an educational
grant from RB Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
www.myrecoverymychoice.co.uk
MY RECOVERY MY CHOICE
Since last year's launch,
the campaign has
become established
as a highly valued
information source
and is nowendorsed
by 15 key drug
support organisations.
One year on, Jude Norton reviews the progress of an effective information campaign
www.pcmscientific.com