Evidence base for prevention
The Royal College of Psychiatrists produced a report in 2024 summarising evidence around public mental health interventions, which included interventions to prevent and reduce substance use. These interventions are summarised below. Full details are on pages 14 – 15 in the report.
Primary prevention
- Strong evidence around universal interventions, such as alcohol minimum prices and taxation, to reduce alcohol use and harmful drinking (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2022b)
- Moderate/strong evidence around digital interventions to prevent cannabis use (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2022b)
Secondary prevention
- Moderate evidence for brief and digital interventions to reduce harmful alcohol consumption (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2022b).
- Weak/moderate evidence around targeted alcohol interventions for people with mental health conditions (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2022b).
Tertiary prevention
- Moderate evidence around interventions for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use issues (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2022b).
- A literature review identified 3 types of facilitators to people with co-occurring drug/alcohol and mental health issues accessing mental healthcare:
- Reviewing specialist knowledge and approaches within mental health, substance use and primary care
- Supporting a more integrated approach with continuity of care
- Supporting people to enable more effective treatment
- Guidelines around how best to integrate mental healthcare with drug and alcohol services
Additional resources
References
Full list of references is included at the end of this chapter.