This European working group was established at a meeting in Vienna (12 – 14 October 2003), of experts and representatives of leading addiction centres from 11 countries. Its objective is to improve treatment, rehabilitation and harm reduction of alcohol related problems in European countries through the creation of an international European platform. The platform brings together the best possible knowledge and clinical practice available in the European region, linking leading clinical and addiction research centres. Ultimately the working group strives towards the creation of benchmarks for good clinical practice including systems of care and the development of a European consensus in this field.
Partners
Members of the group are persons having leading positions in treatment institutions and some researchers. Currently some 35 people participate in the work of the group. Gradual expansion of the membership is being sought, whereby participation of institutions in the new member states of the EU is explicitly included. For the time being the initiative is carried by its participants, in particular by 4 institutions which took the initiative and have agreed to organise the activities of the group: the National Addiction Centre in London, the Jellinek Centre in Amsterdam, the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw and the Anton Proksch Institute in Vienna. From the onset the group has agreed upon cooperation with the European Office of the World Health Organization and the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate of the European Commission. Sponsorship by the pharmaceutical industry is absent so as to guarantee the independence of the initiative. The Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA) is an important partner and sponsors some of the activities. Further, close cooperation is foreseen with other international projects such as the implementation of the European Alcohol Action Plan of WHO and the EC sponsored programme on the involvement of primary health care in the management of alcohol related problems. For the time being the activities of the working group continue to be organised by the 4 “carrier”-institutions which took the initial steps towards its establishment, whilst the secretariat is located at the Anton Proksch Institut in Vienna. A steering group directs and oversees the activities of the group.
Action
In pursuance of its objective the working group holds regular meetings, creates communication and cooperation between its members, initiates and coordinates comparative research, and develops benchmarks of good clinical practice leading to the establishment of a European consensus. The frequency of the meetings of the working group depends on the programme of work and on the needs of the participants; whereby 18 months intervals are thought to be adequate for the upkeep of effective links between the members of the group and for proceeding with the work in between. To the extent possible and feasible the working group initiates, coordinates and supports research activities which contribute to the advancement of the objective of the group. Comparative research amongst the members of the group is one of the practical instruments to advance knowledge on best practices in the region and expand the evidence base in this area. Currently a survey on physical co-morbidity is carried out.
EWGTAD will be transformed into the European Society on Treatment of Alcohol Dependence and Releated Disorders (ESTAD).
