Physical activity and the prevention, reduction, and treatment of alcohol and/or substance use across the lifespan (The PHASE review): protocol for a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol and substance use results in significant human and economic cost globally and is associated with economic costs of £21 billion and £15billion within the UK, respectively, and trends for use are not improving. Pharmacological interventions are well researched, but relapse rates across interventions for substance and alcohol use disorders are as high as 60-90%. Physical activity may offer an alternative or adjunct approach to reducing rates of alcohol and substance use that is associated with few adverse side effects, is easily accessible, and is potentially cost-effective. Through psychological, behavioural, and physiological mechanisms, physical activity may offer benefits in the prevention, reduction, and treatment of alcohol and substance use across the lifespan. Whilst physical activity is widely advocated as offering benefit, no systematic review exists of physical activity (in all forms) and its effects on all levels of alcohol and substance use across all ages to help inform policymakers, service providers, and commissioners. METHODS: The objectives of this mixed methods systematic review are to describe and evaluate the quantitative and qualitative research obtained by a diverse search strategy on the impact of physical activity and its potential to: 1. Reduce the risk of progression to alcohol and/or substance use (PREVENTION) 2. Support individuals to reduce alcohol and/or substance use for harm reduction (REDUCTION), and 3. Promote abstinence and relapse prevention during and after treatment for an alcohol and/or substance use disorder (TREATMENT). With the input of key stakeholders, we aim to assess how what we know can be translated into policy and practice. Quantitative, qualitative, service evaluations, and economic analyses will be brought together in a final narrative synthesis that will describe the potential benefits of physical activity for whom, in what conditions, and in what form. DISCUSSION: This review will provide details of what is known about physical activity and the prevention, reduction, and treatment of alcohol and/or substance use. The synthesised findings will be disseminated to policymakers, service providers, and commissioners in the UK. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO number: CRD42017079322 .

'I don't think there's much of a rational mind in a drug addict when they are in the thick of it': towards an embodied analysis of recovering heroin users.

Much of the sociological literature on recovery from heroin use has been located within the symbolic interactionist tradition and has revealed the salience of identity for the recovery process, and has focused upon actors' cognitions. By contrast, less attention has been paid to former users' bodies. The aim of this paper therefore is to focus upon the embodied aspects of recovery from heroin use. To this end, we deploy the notions of bodily 'dys-appearance' and 'habitual action' as sensitising concepts to undertake an analysis of data generated by 40 qualitative interviews carried out with 21 men and 19 women who are overcoming their addiction to heroin in England. Analytically, we distinguish between using bodies and recovering bodies. In the case of the former, 'habitual action' is relatively urgent and routinised; in the case of the latter, however, habitual action is more difficult to maintain because the bodily dys-appearances associated with the transition from heroin use are relatively more multifaceted and unfamiliar. The body techniques associated with embodied reproduction of using and recovering bodies can be pre-cognitive, easily overlooked and yet, embedded as they are in mundane, everyday activities, they constitute a crucial part of the process of recovery from heroin.

Barriers to extended nurse prescribing among practice nurses.

Practice nurses are defined as those nurses who work in general practices and are employed by GPs.This includes nurses who have gained further qualifications and are working as nurse practitioners and minor illness specialist nurses. Despite the success of nurse-led services in primary care, the move into extended nurse prescribing has not been as high as predicted. A questionnaire survey of all 251 practice nurses in one southern English county was conducted in order to ascertain current roles and responsibilities, prescribing qualifications (both actual and planned), and perceived barriers to acquiring a nurse independent prescriber qualification. The findings identified what local practice nurses perceive to be barriers to nurse prescribing with issues of age, salary, support and training all playing a part in discouraging the uptake of this qualification.