In Emilia-Romagna, thanks to the restrictions imposed by the Covid emergency, in the two-year period 2020-2021 there was a substantial decrease in the number of people with alcohol-related problems taken care of by the special Centers set up at the SerDPs, which from 12,198 in 2019 to 8,970 in 2021 (-26.5%).
- A trend in contrast with previous years, which had instead seen a constant growth in the number of clients.
- While on the one hand access to services had to be limited to counter the spread of the virus, on the other hand, experts found less use of specialist centers.
- Despite the declining numbers, the guard must still be kept high, and this is what the regional health service is doing with awareness-raising initiatives in the area.
“Prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of alcohol-related problems are among the priority objectives of the Health Department - underlines the Regional Councilor for Health Policies, Raffaele Donini -.
Today we have good epidemiological knowledge
A networking approach is therefore essential, with the participation of various actors including professionals from the Alcoholic Centers of Local Health Units, Therapeutic Communities, Anci, Universities, self-help associations and accredited private hospitals, able to manage the complexity of the phenomenon, to prevent the evolution towards chronicity which often results in isolation and abandonment of individuals and families.
- And the same amount of attention will be paid to the school - Donini concludes - which represents a focus of privileged interest for the prevention and promotion of health ”.
- The goal of the agreement being worked on is the creation of a network between the world of science and that of associations to promote projects aimed at supporting the activities of preventing and combating alcohol abuse.
- The cornerstone of the strategies to combat ethyl abuse in Emilia-Romagna are the 41 alcoholic centers present in the area, where multidisciplinary teams of doctors, nurses, psychologists, educators and social workers are able to tackle the problem of alcohol dependence in its complexity and multifactoriality.
These centers take care of people who are at risk of being enslaved to alcohol
All this in close collaboration with local authorities, accredited private structures and self-help associations, that is, groups of people united by a pathological addiction such as anomini alcoholics.
The Alcoholic Centers also organize information-educational courses for motorists who are caught driving while intoxicated. The main purpose of these courses, organized by the Ausl, is to raise awareness of the risks involved when you get behind the wheel after having raised your elbow too much.
In the month dedicated to the prevention and fight against alcohol abuse, there are numerous awareness-raising initiatives organized by the local health authorities, available on their respective websites.