Summary of Activities, Impacts and Outputs 2013-May 2017
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Summary of activities, impacts and outputs 2013-May 2017 John Britton Linda Bauld Ann McNeill On behalf of the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies Progress Report 2013 -2017 UKCTAS overview, activities, impacts and outputs 2013 to May 2017 1. Introduction The UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies (UKCTAS) is a strategic partnership now comprising 14 university academic groups working collaboratively on programmes of research, teaching, training and policy development to prevent harms to health and wider society rising from tobacco and alcohol use. UKCTAS originated as the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies (UKCTCS), one of the five UK Public Health Research Centres of Excellence established by the UK Clinical Research Collaboration in 20081, and expanded in accordance with its original objectives to become UKCTAS in the successful competition for second phase funding in 2013. The remit and achievements of UKCTAS during the 2008-13 funding period are detailed in earlier reports 2,3. This report updates our 2013-5 review of outputs and achievements submitted to our International Advisory Board (IAB) in 20153 by providing an overview of key elements and impacts of our work from the commencement of our current five-year funding period in September 2013, including those developed since (and in response to) the IAB at its September 2015 meeting. It concludes with some initial thoughts on next steps for continuing the work of the Centre beyond the current funding period, which is due to end in 2018. 2. UKCTAS Objectives 2013-18 UKCTAS was established to build on the success of the UKCTCS in tobacco work, and to expand the focus of the Centre to include alcohol as well as tobacco. The declared objectives of UKCTAS are to: Establish the UKCTAS as a leading international centre for both tobacco and alcohol research and policy excellence, complementing our success with UKCTCS Deliver a world-class portfolio of original research and policy development Build and sustain capacity by developing our engagement and training programmes for researchers, health professionals, policymakers, advocates and others in alcohol and tobacco science and practice Harness the skills, knowledge and outputs of the UKCTAS to engage with and provide strategic direction for the tobacco and alcohol control policy agenda 3. UKCTAS Structure, management and research teams UKCTAS is led by the Director (John Britton) and Deputy Directors (Linda Bauld and Ann McNeill) and managed by a Strategic Management Group (SMG) of 26 senior academics from 13 UK and 1 New Zealand University, who with their wider research groups and collaborations deliver the work of UKCTAS. The Centre is supported by a research coordinator (Graeme Docherty), digital media and support officer (Chris Hill) and data manager (Yue Huang). Further details on the lead academics and their host universities are summarised in Figure 1 below; full details of the research teams involved are listed in full on the UKCTAS website4. UKCTAS currently involves a total of over 135 researchers and related staff, and a wider research network of nearly 300 collaborators and other stakeholders. UKCTAS work is organised into six workstreams and four cross-cutting themes (Figure 2). 1 UK Clinical Research Collaboration. Strengthening public health research in the UK. UK Clinical Research Collaboration: http://www.ukcrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Public_Health_Report_July_08.pdf; 2008 2 http://ukctas.net/reports.html 3 http://ukctas.net/pdfs/UKCTAS-2013-15-Progress-Report.pdf 4 http://ukctas.net/teams/researchteams.html 2 Progress Report 2013 -2017 Figure 1: Institutions and lead researchers in the UKCTAS network (full details of research teams are available at http://ukctas.net/teams/researchteams.html) Figure 2: UKCTAS Workstreams and Cross-cutting Themes Workstreams (WS) WS 1 WS 2 WS 3 Behaviour and risks of tobacco Population strategies for Individual strategies for and alcohol use behaviour change behaviour change WS 4 WS 5 WS 6 Reducing harm from tobacco Policy and ethics The tobacco and alcohol and alcohol use industries Cross-cutting Themes (CCT) CCT 4 CCT 2 CCT 3 CCT 1 Teaching, training, New research Economics Reducing Inequalities capacity development, methods assessment public engagement 3 Progress Report 2013 -2017 4. Example research achievements 2013-17: Since UKCTAS was established in 2013 we have published over 700 peer-reviewed original research papers and around 100 reviews, letters and other academic outputs. We have attracted over £45 million in new research grant income, and achieved significant policy and practice impacts in a range of different areas. Details of our publications and grants are presented in Appendices 1 and 2, and an account of activities in relation to all WS and CCT objectives outlined in our funding proposal in Appendix 3. Our current cohort of postgraduate students and research fellows funded through UKCTAS (directly or through leveraged funding) are listed in Appendix 4. The following sections provide examples of success in research, policy and other areas of activity. 4.1 Decision-support to national policymakers on alcohol policy UKCTAS academics were commissioned by the group responsible for developing the new UK Chief Medical Officer's drinking guidelines5, and undertook a series of projects commissioned by Public Health England, to inform policy recommendations on alcohol to government and the National Health Service. These projects included: (1) investigating potential health, economic and societal impacts of taxation and minimum pricing policies for alcohol and identification and brief advice (IBA) for risky drinkers by primary care practitioners;6,7 (2) Estimating the number of alcohol dependent adults in need of specialist assessment and treatment and the number of children living in their households8 and (3) Estimating the risks associated with different levels and patterns of alcohol consumption for UK adults to inform revisions to the UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines.9 We also adapted or updated our modelling of the potential impact of minimum unit pricing policies for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, all of which are taking steps towards implementing the policy, and have cited our work extensively in their policy development and legal processes. We performed new analyses for the Scottish Government on the comparative effectiveness of Minimum Unit Pricing and alcohol taxation10, and this work formed a key part of their successful defence of Minimum Unit Pricing in the Scottish courts. We have also been developing new modelling methods to allow us to adapt the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model to the Local Authority level. These new models will enable local decision makers to understand the extent and distribution of alcohol-related harm in their area, and appraise the potential impact of a range of policy options to address this. 4.2 Requirements for specialist alcohol treatment capacity As part of the DH Policy research programme we have developed a model to estimate requirements for specialist alcohol treatment capacity in England - The Specialist Treatment for Alcohol Model (STreAM) Version 1.011. This includes identifying key specialist treatment options and combinations of treatments and care packages; then investigate the effectiveness and resource uses of these treatment modalities, taking into account the severity 5 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/545937/UK_CMOs__report.pdf 6 Angus C, Ally A. Modelling the potential impact of duty policies using the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model version 3. Sheffield: ScHARR, University of Sheffield, 2015. 7 Angus C, Gillespie D, A A, A B. Modelling the impact of minimum unit pricing and identification and brief advice policies using the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model version 3. Sheffield: ScHARR, University of Sheffield, 2015. 8 Pryce R, Buykx P, Gray L, A S, Drummond C, A B. Estimates of alcohol dependence in England based on APMS 2014, including estimates of children living in household with an adult with alcohol dependence: Prevalence, trends and amenability to treatment. Sheffield and London: University of Sheffield and King's College London, 2017. 9 Holmes J, Angus C, Buykx P, Ally A, Stone T, Meier P. Mortality and morbidity risks from alcohol consumption in the UK: Analyses using the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model (v.2.7) to inform the UK Chief Medical Officers' review of the UK lower risk drinking guidelines. Sheffield: ScHARR, University of Sheffield, 2016. 10 Angus C, Holmes J, Pryce R, Meier P, Brennan A. (2016) 'Model-based appraisal of the comparative impact of Minimum Unit Pricing and taxation policies in Scotland: An adaptation of the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model version 3', ScHARR: University of Sheffield. 11 Brennan, Buykx, Pryce, Jones, Hill-McManus, Stone, Ally, Gillespie, Meier, Alston, Cairns, Millar, Donmall, Wolstenholme, Phillips, Elzerbi, and Drummond. An Evidence-Based Model for Estimating Requirements for Specialist Alcohol Treatment Capacity in England - The Specialist Treatment for Alcohol Model (STreAM) Version 1.0. Final report to DH Policy Research Programme PR-R4-0512-12002. October 2016. 4 Progress Report 2013 -2017 of patients’ alcohol dependence and other patient characteristics; estimating the prevalence of harmful and dependent drinkers by the severity of alcohol dependence, gender, age and other relevant patient characteristics in England at both national and local