Browsing by Author "Flisher, Alan J."

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    A prospective study of methamphetamine use as a predictor of high school non-attendance in Cape Town, South Africa
    (BioMed Central, 2010-10) Pluddemann, Andreas; Flisher, Alan J.; McKetin, Rebecca; Parry, Charles D.; Lombard, Carl J.
    Background: This prospective study investigated the association between life-long methamphetamine and other drug use and high school non-attendance, in a sample of high school students in Cape Town, South Africa. Methods: A random sample of 1535 high school students completed a baseline questionnaire in 2006, and were asked to complete a follow-up questionnaire 12 months later. The questionnaire included questions on substance use, including tobacco, alcohol, methamphetamine and cannabis use, demographic factors, and questions relating to school attendance and performance. Results: Forty-three percent of the students surveyed at baseline did not complete a follow-up questionnaire after 12 months. Compared with students who were not using selected substances, an adjusted logistic regression model showed that life-time methamphetamine use in addition to other substances was significantly associated with non-attendance (OR = 2.58, 95% CI: 1.24 - 5.36) when other non-substance use factors (repeating a year at school and being older than the norm for current grade) were taken into account. Conclusions: Early identification of students with methamphetamine and other substance use problems, and a supportive rather than punitive school policy, may be valuable in improving high school completion and student retention rates.
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    To what extent does South African mental health and substance abuse research address priority issues?
    (Health & Medical Publishing Group, 2000-04) Flisher, Alan J.; Parry, Charles D. H.; Stein, Dan J.
    Objective. To investigate the extent to which South African mental health research addresses priority issues. Design. Cross-sectional survey of conference presentations. Setting. The most recent conferences of the following professional societies: the Epidemiological Society of Southern Africa, the Psychological Society of South Africa, the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa, and the South African Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. Main outcome measures. Whether the presentations addressed priority areas as defined in the list 'Selected priority areas of research' compiled by the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Thrust of the Medical Research Council, and if so which priority areas were addressed. Results. There were 627 presentations, with 267 (43%) on mental health or substance abuse. Seventy-eight papers (29%) reported original research in a priority area identified by the Medical Research Council. Of these, 73 (94%) were on mental health and 5 (6%) were on substance abuse. Of the 73 papers on mental health, 33 (45%) addressed topics in health problem research, 7 (10%) aetiology research, 22 (30%) intervention research, and 11 (15%) operational and health systems research. Conclusion. Much South African mental health research does not address priority issues. There is a particular dearth of research addressing substance abuse research priorities. Funding mechanisms and research capacity development initiatives could help to rectify the situation.