Northern Ireland’s first drugs and alcohol network launched

Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have joined forces with the Public Health Agency and the Department of Health to form the first ever Drugs and Alcohol Research Network (DARN) in Northern Ireland which is being launched today.

DARN aims to provide a one-stop platform for all researchers, policy-makers and practitioners in Northern Ireland and internationally, in order to develop a more informed research base on drugs and alcohol issues.

Inside Queen’s, DARN will act as an inter-disciplinary forum where findings from areas as diverse as social work, public health, education, economics, sociology, psychology, law and pharmacy can be pooled and feed into wider discussions outside the University, including directly informing government policy and comparative studies with other countries.

Lead organisers, Dr Anne Campbell and Dr Kathryn Higgins from Queen’s School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work said: “It is recognised that practitioners, strategists and researchers in the area of addictions largely work in silos where there is little cross-fertilisation of ideas and how they may be put into practice. Queen’s has a reputation for producing rigorous academic research in this area and forging links with public systems and relevant institutions so the University is well-placed to lead this new initiative. Queen’s researchers meet regularly with local, national and international policymakers and voluntary and statutory treatment providers. DARN will help ensure that important findings are more firmly placed directly in the hands of those who can best use them.”

Simon Hamilton MLA, the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety said: “Our substance misuse strategy, the New Strategic Direction for Alcohol and Drugs Phase 2, commits us to taking a clear evidence-based approach to preventing and addressing the harm related to substance misuse and to developing policies and strategies that work. I therefore welcome the launch of the Drug and Alcohol Research Network, which will help build up the local evidence base and ensure we are investing in services that can effectively deal with local problems. It will also let us test innovative solutions and approaches and help us address one the key public health challenges we face.”   

Cathy Mullan, from the Public Health Agency said: “The Public Health Agency is committed to ensuring that public money is used in the most effective ways possible to reduce the harm caused to the people of Northern Ireland by the misuse of drugs and alcohol. The Drug and Alcohol Research Network will be a valuable resource to ensure that we do what works. It will help inform and support us so that we can embrace new and innovative ways of working that are known to be effective.”

For more information on DARN, see http://go.qub.ac.uk/DARN15