Hazardous drinking and general practitioner visits in the past year.

Aim: To quantify the relationship between any general practitioner (GP) visit and hazardous alcohol use, and whether this differs by sociodemographic factors.

Method: Hazardous alcohol use (scores 8+ Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and any past year GP visits were examined using 2016/17 New Zealand Health Survey data from 13,598 adults. Sub-group analyses examined whether the association differed by age, sex or ethnicity (Māori/non-Māori), and socioeconomic status (NZDep2013) in post-hoc analyses.

A review of work-force development literature for the Māori addiction treatment field in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Māori, like Indigenous Australians and other indigenous people world-wide, are simultaneously over-represented among those presenting with addiction-related problems and under-represented within various health professions. Providing the opportunity for individuals and whanau (family/extended family) to work with ethnically matched health workers is likely to increase service accessibility and to improve treatment outcomes. In New Zealand, a number of initiatives have been instigated to increase the capacity of the Māori health work-force and reduce related barriers to treatment.

Coexisting psychiatric disorders in a New Zealand outpatient alcohol and other drug clinical population.

Objective: To describe the extent of psychiatric disorder and mental health service utilization in a representative outpatient alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment sample in New Zealand.

Method: A total of 105 patients were randomly recruited from two outpatient AOD treatment services in New Zealand and completed a diagnostic interview within the first 2 months of treatment. Axis I psychiatric diagnoses were made using the computerized Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI-Auto), and were supplemented by the South Oaks Gambling Scale (SOGS) and the conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder section of the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS).

Pokies and poverty: problem gambling risk factor geography in New Zealand.

Up to 2% of adults in New Zealand can be considered problem gamblers, where the activity has an impact on the well-being of those who gamble, and often their close associates. The most common activity involves non-casino gaming machines (NCGMs). This paper explores the geography of gambling 'opportunity' at small-area scales, and finds excess provision in those areas classified as highly deprived.

Re-enculturation: culturally congruent interventions for Mäori with alcohol- and drug-use-associated problems in New Zealand.

Generally, the relationship between culture and substance use has been explored in two ways. Firstly, high rates of substance use and related problems amongst indigenous and migrant populations generated interest in genetics and cultural susceptibility. Acculturation-strain type theories suggested the stress of culture-change increased the risk of substance use and related harm.

Innovative alcohol- and drug-user treatment of inmates in New Zealand prisons.

The Kowhai Alcohol and Drug Treatment Unit at Rolleston Prison offers an innovative treatment approach for New Zealand inmates. The development of the program has involved local staff from Public Prisons, Psychological Services, and the Community Probation Service (CPS). This presentation outlines the author's impression of this bold innovation.