» About the Project

Background

Amphetamine Type Stimulants are amongst the most commonly used illicit drugs. While the level of use is relatively low in the broader community, the impact of ATS use on individuals, families and communities, can be significant.

National research indicates an increase in use, with users of ATS being exposed to a range of risk factors including dependence, mental health concerns, blood borne virus transmission and increased incidence or exposure to violence and aggression.

In response to these issues the 2007-08 Federal Budget committed $22.9 million over two years to enhance the capacity of the non-government sector. The ATS Grants Program is intended to facilitate an increase in the capacity of service providers to meet the needs of people who use ATS.

According to the National Amphetamine Type Stimulants Strategy 2008-2011, there is a need for more coordinated responses across a range of service systems. The available literature supports this by suggesting that limited links between frontline service providers and broader health and welfare supports are a barrier to effective engagement and treatment in relation to clients presenting with ATS issues. It is anticipated that representatives from a broad range of sectors will attend these training sessions. Therefore this workforce capacity building initiative will aim to improve responses and provide an opportunity for networking at a local level.

One of the key recommended actions within the Priority Areas of the National Strategy is the integration of ATS education and access to professional development opportunities for a range of health and welfare professionals. Therefore, this project has a broad target audience. The National ATS Strategy acknowledges the needs of rural and remote staff who respond to drug related issues in their work and as a result, training sessions will be held in a number of regional locations.

Project Content

Project staff have undertaken consultations with key informants in each jurisdiction to ensure that the ATS training curriculum is relevant to local need. In order to ensure that the package is based on the most up to date evidence, the jurisdictional consultations have been supported with input from experts within both the practice and research realms of the Alcohol & Other Drugs/Needle Syringe Program/Blood Borne Viruses sectors.

Despite the opportunities for frontline services to provide effective interventions with people currently using ATS, there are a range of factors that limit their capacity to support the needs of service users. These factors include limited knowledge of ATS harms, limited skills and confidence to engage ATS users and limited awareness and understanding of effective interventions.

Training Curriculum

Whilst considering these challenges it is also essential to acknowledge that over recent years many frontline service providers have undertaken training and education in relation to ATS. This has equipped many health and community services with the capacity to provide effective interventions and as research in this area continues to develop, there are numerous practitioners dedicated to administering up to date, evidence based interventions. Anex is also aware that there are sometimes high levels of staff attrition and this can mean that currency of knowledge in the workforce can be hard to maintain.

Staff can attend either an:

That is, staff with knowledge of ATS may determine that they do not need to attend the introductory session, but may wish to attend only the advanced session. The training curriculum has been designed to accommodate this.

The introductory session will provide an overview of ATS classifications, domestic & international ATS use, identification of social, physical, emotional & psychological impacts and protocols which address screening, assessment, management and referral.

The advanced session will highlight the contemporary situation of ATS use, explore the pharmacological impacts and interventions involved in current models, including clinical guidelines and practice principles.

Whilst the definition of ATS refers to a group of psychostimulant drugs that are related to the parent compound amphetamine, this training will focus on methamphetamine and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).