In January 2021, the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) published a report on the impact of the pandemic on services and people who use drugs.¹ The report was prepared by staff in the Research Services and Policy Unit and Health Analytics Division in the Department of Health on behalf of the department’s Drugs Policy and Social Inclusion Unit. The report is based on two surveys undertaken in 2020. An article outlining the findings of the first survey, the Mini-European Web Survey on Drugs: Covid-19, was published in issue 76 of Drugnet Ireland.² Data collection for the second, the Survey of Drug and Alcohol Services, was completed via an online survey and by email between August and September 2020.¹

Following the opiate epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s, the United States (US) and many countries across Europe have seen a significant increase in the proportion of older individuals with a drug dependency and those receiving drug treatment. In 2017, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) reported that clients over the age of 40 receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) had increased from 20% to 40% between 2006 and 2015.¹ These trends are also reflected in Irish data, with a growing number of clients over the age of 35 receiving treatment for opiate use since 2009.²

Schools are an important setting for the delivery of prevention and harm reduction interventions to adolescents. In April 2021, based on the findings of systematic reviews published in 2020, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) updated the evidence on its Best Practice Portal (BPP) concerning school-based programmes to improve young people’s mental health and wellbeing and reduce risks related to substance use. They relate to school-based multicomponent positive psychology interventions (MCPPIs), school anti-bullying interventions, and e-health school-based interventions.^1,2

The purpose of a nursing model is to define the underpinning theory and concepts that guide nursing practice. To date, there is no nursing model specific to addiction services; however, several general models of nursing are frequently used in this context. An external review undertaken by Strang¹ described current models used within addiction services internationally as task-oriented and reactive, with little time available for nurses to work flexibly to client need. This contrasts with the understanding that service provision should support a person-centred journey to recovery.