INHSU (International Network on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users)
How-to guides, infographics and films.
COVID-19 - Psychosocial mental health and wellbeing support for staff
The site covers the following topics:
- Looking after yourself: supporting resilience and wellbeing in health and social care workers.
- Looking after people: providing psychosocial support to patients and the public using psychological first aid.
- Looking after your staff: responding to distress in frontline health-workers, advice for managers and organisations supporting health and social care workers.
Access using the following link:
Tobacco and Cannabis
ASH Scotland have a number of online courses which are free to access. Sign up is required.
Access the courses using the following link:
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders module
To help overcome the longstanding misdiagnosis, misunderstanding and mistreatment of people with this life-altering condition, the Scottish Government has launched a free FASD eLearning resource on the NHS Education for Scotland (NES) website.
The module has four sections: Understanding, Preventing, Identifying and Intervening/Supporting. The completion time is estimated at 1 hour 40 minutes. More detailed resources on each section are available or referenced.
Please note that anyone can access this resource free of charge. However, it does require registering with NES/Turas, which can be done here: NES/TURAS Dashboard
Access the module using the following link:
SDF: Cocaine and other Psychostimulants
This course will increase your knowledge of cocaine and other psychostimulants in Scotland. Upon completion, you will be able to identify specific psychostimulants and their effects, understand the current trends in Scotland, and gain an understanding of harm reduction strategies.
The course takes 2 hours to complete. The course is aimed at people working in treatment, mental health services, or other surrounding services.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Describe psychostimulants in use including cocaine, amphetamines, ecstasy, and mephedrone
- Recall the current and emerging trends with psychostimulants
- Identify effective harm reduction strategies for working with people who use psychostimulants
To undertake this course please use the following link:
SDF: Hepatitis B in Scotland
Hepatitis Scotland is pleased to announce the launch of a new, free to access e-learning resource, which is dedicated to raising knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B. The concise course can be completed in around two hours, or alternatively be completed in separate sittings to provide a fully flexible learning experience.
To undertake this course please use the following link:
SDF: What’s happening on the streets with benzos?
This e-learning course aims to raise awareness and increase knowledge around benzodiazepines use in Scotland. Participants will be able to identify benzodiazepine effects and gain an understanding of harm reduction techniques for benzodiazepine use.
To undertake this course please use the following link:
SDF: 'How are your sites?' - injecting wound care
This e-learning course discusses harm reduction related to injecting sites. It aims to help workers assess sites and offer accurate advice to people who inject drugs.
To undertake this course please use the following link:
SDF: Motivational Interviewing in Brief Conversations
A free e-learning course for anyone in Scotland. To learn about the processes of Motivational Interviewing, what it is and how it works.
To undertake this course please use the following link:
SDF: Hepatitis C and new treatments
Scottish Drugs Forum and Hepatitis Scotland are pleased to announce the launch of a new, free to access e-learning resource, which is dedicated to raising knowledge and awareness of hepatitis C.
The course has been launched to mark World Hepatitis Day and gives participants the opportunity to identify risk factors for hep C, understand the implications of not being diagnosed and describe the benefits of new treatments.
The concise course can be completed in around two hours, or alternatively be completed in separate sittings to provide a fully flexible learning experience.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Define hep C
- Identify risk factors for hep C
- Understand the implications of not being diagnosed
- Distinguish methods of testing for hep C
- Recall previous treatments
- Describe the benefits of new treatments
To undertake this course please use the following link:
SDF: Overdose Prevention, Intervention and Naloxone
This short e-learning course covers the key aspects of drug-related deaths in Scotland, opiate overdose prevention, intervention and naloxone basics.
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Summarise drug-related deaths in Scotland
- Identify an overdose
- Explain how to prevent an overdose
- Describe naloxone and its use
To undertake this course please use the following link:
SDF: Bacterial Infections and Drug Use
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Recognise the signs and symptoms of bacterial infections
- Recall different bacterial infection outbreaks in Scotland
- Describe harm reduction information for bacterial infection in the context of substance use
Although the course has been designed to meet the needs of people who may come into contact with people who use drugs, various other audiences will benefit from the e-learning, including housing workers, social workers, and mental health workers. The course can be completed in under 2 hours, or alternatively can be completed in separate sittings to provide a fully flexible learning experience.
To undertake this course please use the following link:
SDF: New drugs, new trends? A worker's toolkit for NPS
This course has been designed to meet the needs of workers who come into contact with people who may use Novel Psychoactive Substances (sometimes known as legal highs).
To undertake this course please use the following link:
SDF: Drug awareness - introductory course
This introductory e-learning course aims to increase workers' knowledge and awareness of key issues relating to drug use in Scotland.
By the end of the course participants should be able to:
- identify a range of reasons why people use drugs
- describe patterns of drug use
- recall commonly used drugs in Scotland
- understand and explain harm reduction techniques
To undertake this course please use the following link:
Alcohol and Ageing - Recognising and responding to alcohol use in people over 50
This course has been designed to serve as an introduction to recognising and responding to people over 50 who are at risk of problematic drinking and potential alcohol-related harm. It will be helpful for those who have regular contact with people over 50 who drink alcohol and may be at risk and/or may be socially isolated. This course should take around 1-2 hours to complete.
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- understand the concept of life transitions and how they might impact on alcohol use in people over 50
- understand what impact alcohol can have on a person's health
- recognise health conditions which are associated with alcohol use in people over 50
- respond to alcohol use in people over 50
- understand the Ask-Provide-Ask model
- provide advice and information on making healthier choices around alcohol
To undertake this course please use the following link:
Naloxone
View the Prenoxad Injection Training Manual (1.2 MB PDF).
Stimulant Overdose Awareness
The stimulant overdose awareness e-learning course aims to:
- enhance knowledge of stimulants and their effects
- raise awareness of situations and behaviours that increase the risk of overdose
- outline current advice to reduce harm
- clarify the main signs of overdose and options for responding
Use the following link to start the course
Trauma informed practice for the workforce
View the Trauma informed practice for the workforce video.
This animation is designed to be relevant to all workers within the Scottish workforce. It aims to support workers to know how to adapt the way they work to make a positive difference to people affected by trauma and adversity.