TY - JOUR A1 - Neufeld, Maria A1 - Bobrova, Anastacia A1 - Davletov, Kairat A1 - Stelemekas, Mindaugas A1 - Stoppel, Relika A1 - Ferreira-Borges, Carina A1 - Breda, Joao A1 - Rehm, Jürgen T1 - Alcohol control policies in Former Soviet Union countries BT - a narrative review of three decades of policy changes and their apparent effects JF - Drug and alcohol review N2 - Issues The last Soviet anti-alcohol campaign of 1985 resulted in considerably reduced alcohol consumption and saved thousands of lives. But once the campaign's policies were abandoned and the Soviet alcohol monopoly broken up, a steep rise in mortality was observed in many of the newly formed successor countries, although some kept their monopolies. Almost 30 years after the campaign's end, the region faces diverse challenges in relation to alcohol. Approach The present narrative review sheds light on recent drinking trends and alcohol policy developments in the 15 Former Soviet Union (FSU) countries, highlighting the most important setbacks, achievements and best practices. Vignettes of alcohol control policies in Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania and Uzbekistan are presented to illustrate the recent developments.
Key Findings Over the past decade, drinking levels have declined in almost all FSU countries, paralleled by the introduction of various alcohol-control measures. The so-called three 'best buys' put forward by the World Health Organization to reduce alcohol-attributable burden (taxation and other measures to increase price, restrictions on alcohol availability and marketing) are relatively well implemented across the countries. Implications In recent years, evidence-based alcohol policies have been actively implemented as a response to the enormous alcohol-attributable burden in many of the countries, although there is big variance across and within different jurisdictions. Conclusion Strong declines in alcohol consumption were observed in the 15 FSU countries, which have introduced various alcohol control measures in recent years, resulting in a reduction of alcohol consumption in the World Health Organization European region overall. KW - alcohol KW - alcohol policy KW - Eastern Europe KW - Former Soviet Union KW - mortality Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13204 SN - 0959-5236 SN - 1465-3362 VL - 40 IS - 3 SP - 350 EP - 367 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wiemker, Veronika A1 - Bunova, Anna A1 - Neufeld, Maria A1 - Gornyi, Boris A1 - Yurasova, Elena A1 - Konigorski, Stefan A1 - Kalinina, Anna A1 - Kontsevaya, Anna A1 - Ferreira-Borges, Carina A1 - Probst, Charlotte T1 - Pilot study to evaluate usability and acceptability of the 'Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool' in Russian primary healthcare JF - Digital health N2 - Background and aims: Accurate and user-friendly assessment tools quantifying alcohol consumption are a prerequisite to effective prevention and treatment programmes, including Screening and Brief Intervention. Digital tools offer new potential in this field. We developed the ‘Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool’ (AAA-Tool), a mobile app providing an interactive version of the World Health Organization's Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) that facilitates the description of individual alcohol consumption via culturally informed animation features. This pilot study evaluated the Russia-specific version of the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool with regard to (1) its usability and acceptability in a primary healthcare setting, (2) the plausibility of its alcohol consumption assessment results and (3) the adequacy of its Russia-specific vessel and beverage selection. Methods: Convenience samples of 55 patients (47% female) and 15 healthcare practitioners (80% female) in 2 Russian primary healthcare facilities self-administered the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool and rated their experience on the Mobile Application Rating Scale – User Version. Usage data was automatically collected during app usage, and additional feedback on regional content was elicited in semi-structured interviews. Results: On average, patients completed the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool in 6:38 min (SD = 2.49, range = 3.00–17.16). User satisfaction was good, with all subscale Mobile Application Rating Scale – User Version scores averaging >3 out of 5 points. A majority of patients (53%) and practitioners (93%) would recommend the tool to ‘many people’ or ‘everyone’. Assessed alcohol consumption was plausible, with a low number (14%) of logically impossible entries. Most patients reported the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool to reflect all vessels (78%) and all beverages (71%) they typically used. Conclusion: High acceptability ratings by patients and healthcare practitioners, acceptable completion time, plausible alcohol usage assessment results and perceived adequacy of region-specific content underline the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool's potential to provide a novel approach to alcohol assessment in primary healthcare. After its validation, the Animated Alcohol Assessment Tool might contribute to reducing alcohol-related harm by facilitating Screening and Brief Intervention implementation in Russia and beyond. KW - Alcohol use assessment KW - Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test KW - screening tools KW - digital health KW - mobile applications KW - Russia KW - primary healthcare KW - usability KW - acceptability Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076211074491 SN - 2055-2076 VL - 8 PB - Sage Publications CY - London ER -