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NEWS AND INFORMATION

NEWS AND INFORMATION ABSTRACT The Ecology of Drug Use: Health or Illness the Outcome? (R. P. Irwin, Canberra College of Advanced Education) An ecology of drug use can be analysed from the interactions among the ‘Lagent”, “host” and “environment” factors in health and disease. Disease patterns have changed so that rather than the single model of disease an acceptance has developed for the multicausal, ecological model of health and disease. Any study of drug dependence is not a study of drugs in isolation. It becomes a study of the adaptation made by drug users to their particular situations. A medical ecological model is taken to the relationships between drugs and illness. This model includes (a) personal readiness factors related to the person’s preparedness to change their drug use, (b) the social control factors from the environment which motivate change, and (c) the situational or action factors of the drug which enter the adaptation to the drug use process. Merton has analysed modes of adaptation. In his typology conformity is the modal response where the “cultural ends” and the “means” are acceptable in our society. The innovative, ritualistic, retreating and rebelling modes of adaptation are considered deviant. The use of drugs, to adapt, could fall within all these categories with a variety of illness or health outcomes. In establishing levels of abuse for a drug which leads to “non-conformity” illnesses, people take particular points of view. These include the moral-legal, the medical or public health, the psycho-social and the social-cultural approaches. In the pattern of causality the active agent, according to these points of view, shifts from the drug to the person, and then to the social context. The need for health promotion has been considered as a community response for avoiding the deleterous illness producing effects of drug use. Similarly, individual responsibility is recognised as a continuing factor in the avoidance of drug induced illness. As a “people problem”, we would conclude that the social acceptability of any constructive action, the extent of that action and the level of intervention will determine whether drug use leads to health or illness. . [Dr. Irwin’s abstract of a paper presented at the 1978 ANZSERCH Annual Conference was omitted from a previous issue due to ‘circumstances beyond our control’ - and his. - Ed.] ANZSERCH/APHA JOINT NATIONAL CONFERENCE PERTH, 21-23 MAY 1979 The national conference planning committee has announced the names of “local” speakers in plenary sessions. Their brief is to describe Australasian experience in disease prevention. Strategies for Prevention 1: Personal Behaviour Change Dr. J. Rankin, Director, Division of Drugs and Alcohol Authority, Health Commission of New South Wales: “What does the prevention of alcohol problems really mean?” or “Should the alcohol beverage industry be a growth industry?” Dr. D. Roder, Assistant Director, School Dental Service, Adelaide, SA: “The effectiveness of dental health education in a school dental programme.” Strategies for Prevention 2: Community, Social and Legitlative Action Dr. I. Johnston, Office of Road Safety, Australian Department of Transport: the legislative maintenance of road safety. Dr. J. Donovan, Advisory in Epidemiology, Australian Department of Health: Commonwealth Government activities in preventive medicine. VOL WE HI, NUMBER I, I9 79 COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDIES Present Trends and Future Prospects in the Control of Transmissable Disease Dr. M. A. Burgess, Norman Gregg Fellow, Children’s Medical Research Foundation, Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney: compliance with childhood immunisation schedules in Australia. Dr. J. Stanhope, Senior Epidemiologist, Epidemiology Unit, Wellington Hospital, Wellington, New Zealand: streptococcal infections and the primary prevention of rheumatic fever. Prevention: An Australasian Synthesis Dr. N.J. Gray, Medical Director, Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria: the prevention of cancer. Dr. G. Trinca, Chairman, Road Trauma Committee, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons: the prevention of road trauma. Dr. R. Reader, Director, National Heart Foundation of Australia: the prevention of cardiovascular disease. In recognition of International Year of the Child the conference will have a strong paediatric flavour. There are three largely paediatric papers in the plenary sessions, one of the five concurrent workshops is on “Priorities for Prevention in Children” and the prevention theme is carried over into the post-conference workshop on “Early Childhood Screening”. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING In accordance with paragraph 13 of the rules of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Epidemiology and Research in Community Health Incorporated, I hereby give notice that the Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held on Monday 20 May at 8.00 p.m. in the University of Western Australia. Brendon Kelly (Public Officer) Nominations are invited for membership of the Executive and should be in the hands of the Secretary by 5.00 p.m. on 20 May. The present Executive understands that its successors will probably be located in Sydney. The Council of the Society (being the Executive and three representatives from each regional group of members) will meet at 2.00 p.m. on Sunday 19 May in St. George’s College. VICTORIAN BRANCH The Victorian Branch has formed an education sub-committee to see whether ANZSERCH, through its breadth of membership, can provide short courses for the further education of interested groups in such relevant matters as evaluation for workers in community health centres, and epidemiological and other research methods. Two members of the Branch have been appointed to senior posts in the Health Commission, David Race as Head of the Hospital Division and Dick Scotton as Director of Research and Planning. Geoff Dreher has been appointed Medical Director of the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Papers have been published recently by Lou Opit and Dick Southby on “Medical specialist practitioners in Australia, present indicatives, future trends and consequences” and by Opit and David Dunt on “Future policy concerning the installation of CAT head scanners in Victoria”. MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY The June 1979 issue of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology will be largely VOLUME 111, NUMBER 1,19 79 59 COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDIES devoted to articles on medical sociology and suitable manuscripts are being sought by Jim Ward, School of Sociology, University of New South Wales, P.O. Box 1, Kensington, NSW 2033. The deadline for submission of manuscripts is I April 1979. Papers should be of about 5,000 words in length, although shorter research reports of about 2,500 words will also be considered. Papers are particularly being sought in the following areas: the political economy of health care * the medical profession * alternative health care small scale studies of health care environments AUSTRALIAN BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION CONFERENCE The Second Australian Behaviour Modification Conference will be held at the Hotel Australia, North Adelaide, on 12-16 May 1979, and may interest many ANZSERCH members. There will be papers, symposia, colloquia and skills oriented workshops on behavioural approaches to health promotion, medical care, stress management, sexual dysfunction, child management, institutional and educational programmes and biofeedback, as well as other topics of interest. Preliminary information, registration forms and guidelines for persons wishing to present papers or organise symposia can be obtained from Peter Millier, Conference Secretary, Family Training Unit, 160 Cross Road, Malvem, SA 506 1. COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDIES VOLUME IZI, NUMBER I. I979 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health Wiley

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
"Copyright © 1979 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company"
ISSN
1326-0200
eISSN
1753-6405
DOI
10.1111/j.1753-6405.1979.tb00233.x
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Abstract

ABSTRACT The Ecology of Drug Use: Health or Illness the Outcome? (R. P. Irwin, Canberra College of Advanced Education) An ecology of drug use can be analysed from the interactions among the ‘Lagent”, “host” and “environment” factors in health and disease. Disease patterns have changed so that rather than the single model of disease an acceptance has developed for the multicausal, ecological model of health and disease. Any study of drug dependence is not a study of drugs in isolation. It becomes a study of the adaptation made by drug users to their particular situations. A medical ecological model is taken to the relationships between drugs and illness. This model includes (a) personal readiness factors related to the person’s preparedness to change their drug use, (b) the social control factors from the environment which motivate change, and (c) the situational or action factors of the drug which enter the adaptation to the drug use process. Merton has analysed modes of adaptation. In his typology conformity is the modal response where the “cultural ends” and the “means” are acceptable in our society. The innovative, ritualistic, retreating and rebelling modes of adaptation are considered deviant. The use of drugs, to adapt, could fall within all these categories with a variety of illness or health outcomes. In establishing levels of abuse for a drug which leads to “non-conformity” illnesses, people take particular points of view. These include the moral-legal, the medical or public health, the psycho-social and the social-cultural approaches. In the pattern of causality the active agent, according to these points of view, shifts from the drug to the person, and then to the social context. The need for health promotion has been considered as a community response for avoiding the deleterous illness producing effects of drug use. Similarly, individual responsibility is recognised as a continuing factor in the avoidance of drug induced illness. As a “people problem”, we would conclude that the social acceptability of any constructive action, the extent of that action and the level of intervention will determine whether drug use leads to health or illness. . [Dr. Irwin’s abstract of a paper presented at the 1978 ANZSERCH Annual Conference was omitted from a previous issue due to ‘circumstances beyond our control’ - and his. - Ed.] ANZSERCH/APHA JOINT NATIONAL CONFERENCE PERTH, 21-23 MAY 1979 The national conference planning committee has announced the names of “local” speakers in plenary sessions. Their brief is to describe Australasian experience in disease prevention. Strategies for Prevention 1: Personal Behaviour Change Dr. J. Rankin, Director, Division of Drugs and Alcohol Authority, Health Commission of New South Wales: “What does the prevention of alcohol problems really mean?” or “Should the alcohol beverage industry be a growth industry?” Dr. D. Roder, Assistant Director, School Dental Service, Adelaide, SA: “The effectiveness of dental health education in a school dental programme.” Strategies for Prevention 2: Community, Social and Legitlative Action Dr. I. Johnston, Office of Road Safety, Australian Department of Transport: the legislative maintenance of road safety. Dr. J. Donovan, Advisory in Epidemiology, Australian Department of Health: Commonwealth Government activities in preventive medicine. VOL WE HI, NUMBER I, I9 79 COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDIES Present Trends and Future Prospects in the Control of Transmissable Disease Dr. M. A. Burgess, Norman Gregg Fellow, Children’s Medical Research Foundation, Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney: compliance with childhood immunisation schedules in Australia. Dr. J. Stanhope, Senior Epidemiologist, Epidemiology Unit, Wellington Hospital, Wellington, New Zealand: streptococcal infections and the primary prevention of rheumatic fever. Prevention: An Australasian Synthesis Dr. N.J. Gray, Medical Director, Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria: the prevention of cancer. Dr. G. Trinca, Chairman, Road Trauma Committee, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons: the prevention of road trauma. Dr. R. Reader, Director, National Heart Foundation of Australia: the prevention of cardiovascular disease. In recognition of International Year of the Child the conference will have a strong paediatric flavour. There are three largely paediatric papers in the plenary sessions, one of the five concurrent workshops is on “Priorities for Prevention in Children” and the prevention theme is carried over into the post-conference workshop on “Early Childhood Screening”. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING In accordance with paragraph 13 of the rules of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Epidemiology and Research in Community Health Incorporated, I hereby give notice that the Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held on Monday 20 May at 8.00 p.m. in the University of Western Australia. Brendon Kelly (Public Officer) Nominations are invited for membership of the Executive and should be in the hands of the Secretary by 5.00 p.m. on 20 May. The present Executive understands that its successors will probably be located in Sydney. The Council of the Society (being the Executive and three representatives from each regional group of members) will meet at 2.00 p.m. on Sunday 19 May in St. George’s College. VICTORIAN BRANCH The Victorian Branch has formed an education sub-committee to see whether ANZSERCH, through its breadth of membership, can provide short courses for the further education of interested groups in such relevant matters as evaluation for workers in community health centres, and epidemiological and other research methods. Two members of the Branch have been appointed to senior posts in the Health Commission, David Race as Head of the Hospital Division and Dick Scotton as Director of Research and Planning. Geoff Dreher has been appointed Medical Director of the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Papers have been published recently by Lou Opit and Dick Southby on “Medical specialist practitioners in Australia, present indicatives, future trends and consequences” and by Opit and David Dunt on “Future policy concerning the installation of CAT head scanners in Victoria”. MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY The June 1979 issue of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology will be largely VOLUME 111, NUMBER 1,19 79 59 COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDIES devoted to articles on medical sociology and suitable manuscripts are being sought by Jim Ward, School of Sociology, University of New South Wales, P.O. Box 1, Kensington, NSW 2033. The deadline for submission of manuscripts is I April 1979. Papers should be of about 5,000 words in length, although shorter research reports of about 2,500 words will also be considered. Papers are particularly being sought in the following areas: the political economy of health care * the medical profession * alternative health care small scale studies of health care environments AUSTRALIAN BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION CONFERENCE The Second Australian Behaviour Modification Conference will be held at the Hotel Australia, North Adelaide, on 12-16 May 1979, and may interest many ANZSERCH members. There will be papers, symposia, colloquia and skills oriented workshops on behavioural approaches to health promotion, medical care, stress management, sexual dysfunction, child management, institutional and educational programmes and biofeedback, as well as other topics of interest. Preliminary information, registration forms and guidelines for persons wishing to present papers or organise symposia can be obtained from Peter Millier, Conference Secretary, Family Training Unit, 160 Cross Road, Malvem, SA 506 1. COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDIES VOLUME IZI, NUMBER I. I979

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Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health – Wiley

Published: Feb 1, 1979

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