FYI
Elderly Alcohol Abuse Toolkit
A new toolkit helps service providers address alcohol abuse and medication misuse in older adults. The kit is designed for senior centers and other organizations, and includes a five-step process to start a program and develop resources. “Get Connected! Linking Older Adults with Medication, Alcohol, and Mental Health Resources” has been released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and others. To order, call 800-729-6686 (English and Spanish) or 800-487-4889 (TDD); ask for publication GCKIT.
Stimulant Drug Use Among Teens
A new report on nonmedical stimulant use among adolescents finds, among other things, that youths aged 12–17 years who used stimulants nonmedically were more likely to have used other illicit drugs; more than 71% of youths who used stimulants nonmedically engaged in any of six types of other delinquent behavior, as outlined in the report; and almost 23% of youths who used stimulants nonmedically had a major depressive episode. For the full report, visit
www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k8/stimulants/depression.cfm
Resource on Health Care Innovations
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has launched a new Web resource called the Health Care Innovations Exchange to share examples of both successful and unsuccessful attempts at innovation in health care. It initially is starting out with 100 examples and will be updated every 2 weeks. For more information, visit
Youth Substance Use Awareness
A report from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health has found that youth substance use is higher among one-parent households, particularly father-child pairs, than it is in two-parent households. Awareness of youth substance use in the past year was generally highest among mothers in mother-child pairs and increased with the youth's age, particularly for cigarettes and alcohol. The report is available at
www.drugabusestatistics.samhsa.gov/2k8/parents/parents.pdf
SBIRT Medical Residency Programs
Applications are now being accepted for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's fiscal year 2008 Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral, and Treatment Medical Residency Program cooperative agreements, which are meant to develop and implement training programs for residents. For more information, visit
www.samhsa.gov/Grants/2008/ti_08_003.aspx
State Estimates of Substance Use
The Substance Abuse and Mental Heath Services Administration is offering a new report that analyzes substance use and mental health patterns in each state. The report is based on the 2005–2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health and can be downloaded at no charge from
https://oas.samhsa.gov/2k6state/toc.cfm
Teens Driving Under the Influence
A new report, available from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, gives data on older teenagers who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs. “State Estimates of Persons Aged 18 or Older Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Illicit Drugs” is based on national surveys for the years 2004–2006. To access the full report online, visit
