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Betsy Thom

Publications and source records attributed to Betsy Thom.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Who makes alcohol policy? Science and policy networks 1950-2000.

This chapter examines the interaction between alcohol policy networks, ideological "frames" of understanding of the alcohol problem and the production and use of research evidence. The emergence and growth of policy networks and the production of research based "evidence" as the rationale for change is traced from the mid-nineteenth century over major shifts in understanding of the problem, from a "moral" model to a "disease" model to a "public health" approach and, finally, to an approach which brings together health and criminal justice perspectives. The chapter challenges policy discourse which presents a rational model of policy making supported by "scientific" research.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2003

Fast screening for alcohol misuse.

The Fast Alcohol Screening Test (FAST) has been developed from the AUDIT questionnaire. AUDIT: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: guidelines for use in primary health care. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization for use in very busy medical settings. One feature of the FAST is its ease and speed of administration, especially since one question identifies over 50% of patients as either alcohol misusers or not. This study further explores the sensitivity and specificity of the FAST across ages, gender, and locations using the AUDIT as the gold standard. Two other quick tests are also compared with the AUDIT and the FAST, namely the Paddington Alcohol Test and the CAGE. All tests were quicker to administer than the AUDIT with the FAST taking just 12 s on average. All tests identified drinkers who would accept a health education booklet (over 70% of those identified) or 5 min of advice (over 40%). The FAST was consistently reliable when sensitivity and specificity were tested against AUDIT as the gold standard.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

From alcoholism treatment to the alcohol harm reduction strategy for England: an overview of alcohol policy since 1950.

With the publication of the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England in 2004,(1) it is timely to reflect on the social and political contexts that have influenced alcohol policy. This paper provides an overview of trends in the development of alcohol policy in England since 1950 with a focus on treatment policy. In particular, it traces factors that have prompted change and resulted in the "treatment" response of the 1960s becoming a small part of a larger, complex approach to the "management" of alcohol-related harm. The publication of the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England(1) and the Interim Analytical Report,(2) which provided the evidence and framework for the strategy, has resulted in fierce debate on the political processes underlying the emergence of the strategy, the extent to which the strategy is "evidence-based," its strategic aims, and the mechanisms for implementation. This paper argues that responses to policy statements-like the policies themselves-have to be examined within the political, economic, and cultural contexts of their time.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The FAST Alcohol Screening Test.

Using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) as the gold standard, the Fast Alcohol Screening Test (FAST) was developed for use in busy medical settings. AUDIT questionnaires were completed by 666 patients in two London accident & emergency (A&E) departments. Using a principal components analysis, as well as sensitivity and specificity indices, a two-stage screening test was developed, using four of the AUDIT items. The first stage involved one item that identified >50% of patients as either hazardous or non-hazardous drinkers. The second stage made use of the other three items to categorize the rest. The performance of this four-item questionnaire was then tested across a range of settings. Opportunistic samples of 100 patients completed AUDIT questionnaires in each of the following National Health Service settings: A&E department, fracture clinic, primary health centre and a dental hospital. It was concluded that the four-item FAST questionnaire had good sensitivity and specificity, across a range of settings, when the AUDIT score was used as the gold standard. The FAST questionnaire is quick to administer, since >50% of patients are categorized using just one question.

Adult↗