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Studies have consistently shown that comorbid substance use and mental health comorbidities are the norm rather than the exception (Croton 2010). This association is found highest in treatment settings (Wang [...]

'Invisible addicts' is a term that has been applied to the older adult population for a number of reasons: a lack of research interest, relatively poor screening of alcohol and [...]

This article reports a qualitative study of the phenomenon of posttraumatic amnesia, a common behavioral sequelae to traumatic brain injury frequently encountered by nurses on trauma wards. Specifically, it focuses on the experiences of newly registered Australian graduate nurses (N= 6) providing care for this patient cohort. An atheoretical qualitative descriptive design (Sandelowski, 2000) has been used to explore graduate nurses’ experiences with posttraumatic amnesia. Themes that emerged from the transcripts were perceptions of behavior, difficulties in clinical management, safety, risk of wandering, external support, containment, and advocating for patient safety.

This paper provides a review of the literature concerning risk taking behaviors for HIV amongst the mentally ill and knowledge of HIV/AIDS amongst this group. The paper presents a comparison of Australian and international statistics of prevalence and new infection rates and outlines the subsequent psychiatric complications arising from AIDS. Suggestions are made as to the development of appropriate patient sexual health teaching by nurses. Above all the purpose of the paper is to inform clinicians and develop discourse concerning the implications for clinical practice.

The article presents research on the prevalence and experiences of co-occurring mental health problems and substance use disorders in a community mental health service for older adults in Melbourne, Victoria.

The article presents a university wide elective established at RMIT University in Victoria which examines dual diagnosis in the Australian community and provides students with a greater understanding of how healthcare workers need to consider the impact of substance use. It reveals the examination of students of definitions of dual diagnosis and the co-occurrence of mental illness with problematic patterns of behaviour. The essence of education in substance use in future clinical work is cited.