Mental health and substance use in Europe: initial steps towards a common European approach
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Comorbid substance use and other mental health disorders contribute to more than one million years lived with disability in Europe according to the Global Burden of Disease study. They require a comprehensive approach, yet, in Europe, there is considerable variability in the treatment of these patients. The European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) is committed to address comorbidity in Europe by providing evidence of epidemiological situation and approaches to interventions and supporting a common European approach. METHODS: The methods used to support the promotion of a European approach to comorbidity were the following: a) setting up an EUDA Advisory Board on dual disorders, consisting of international experts guiding and overseeing the EUDA efforts in this field, b) the introduction of a voluntary item on dual disorders in the European data collection on people entering drug treatment (Treatment Demand Indicator (TDI) and c) a survey mapping existing care models in Europe was conducted.
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Authors: Linda Montanari, Francina Fonseca, Marc Auriacombe, Alexander Baldacchino, Alessandra Bò, Gabriele Fischer, Inês Hasselberg, Andrej Kastelič, Konstantinos Kokkolis, Melpomeni Minerva Malliori, Joan I. Mestre-Pintó, Charlotte Migchels, Erikas Simonavičius, Narayanan Subramanian, Liesbeth Vandam, Cinta Mancheño, Tore Willy Lie, Anita White, Marica Ferri, Marta Torrens
Institutions: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Université de Bordeaux, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Medical University of Vienna, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Universidad de Huelva, University of St Andrews, Red de Investigación en Actividades Preventivas y Promoción de la Salud, European Union, University of Inland Norway, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Health Service Executive, Parc de Salut, European Medicines Agency, Centre Hospitalier Charles Perrens