Harm Reduction for Gambling: A Public Health Approach

This edited volume aims to facilitate the evolution of the new public health approach towards gambling. Bringing together the work of international experts, it gives a current overview of the field, highlighting the need for a coordinated framework of prevention and harm reduction measures to replace current "player protection" measures. Chapters begin by exploring the impact of problem gambling, looking at its effects on several levels, ranging from the individual to the family and society. Subsequently an overview of prevention and harm reduction models is presented, bringing the reader to an in-depth understanding of what a public health approach to gambling would entail. Later chapters focus on potential challenges to monitoring and evaluation, inviting the reader to envisage possible barriers towards implementation and ways of overcoming these. The book concludes with recommendations on how to take a harm reduction approach, from a political and human rights perspective. This work gives a rare synopsis of the present-day issues when considering the implementation of a harm reduction strategy for gambling. Recent work by key professionals is presented in order to encourage further developments in this ever-changing domain. Such issues will be relevant to all those with an interest in the field of problem gambling, from clinicians, students and healthcare professionals, to politicians.

Table of Contents:
Preface Nady el-Guebaly Acknowledgments Introduction Cheryl Dickson, Caroline Dunand, Olivier Simon, Henrietta Bowden-Jones Section 1: Impact and current understanding of gambling disorder Chapter 1: Gambling and democracy Peter Adams Chapter 2: Measuring harm from gambling and estimating its distribution in the population Matthew Browne Chapter 3: The social cost of excessive gambling Claude Jeanrenaud, Mélanie Gay, Dimitri Kohler, Jacques Besson, Olivier Simon Chapter 4: The normalisation of dangerous gambling: An ethical issue Jim Orford Chapter 5: Family members affected by excessive gambling Jim Orford Chapter 6: Neurocognitive components of gambling disorder: Implications for assessment, treatment and policy Juan F. Navas, Joël Billieux, Antonio Verdejo-García, José C. Perales Section 2: Harm reduction models and initiatives Chapter 7: Defining harm reduction as part of a public health approach towards gambling Olivier Simon, Jean-Félix Savary, Gabriel Guarrasi, Cheryl Dickson. Chapter 8: Effective harm minimisation practices: Public health implications Darren R. Christensen Chapter 9: Harm prevention and reduction efforts in gambling disorder: An international perspective Charles Livingstone Chapter 10: The role of treatment in reducing gambling-related harm David C. Hodgins, Magdalen Schluter Chapter 11: Public health and gambling: The potential of nudge policies Magaly Brodeur Chapter 12: Early detection of at-risk gambling to reduce harm Suzanne Lischer Chapter 13: Behavioural tracking in gambling: The use and efficacy of online responsible gambling tools Mark D. Griffiths Section 3: Challenges to evaluation and monitoring Chapter 14: A logical framework for the evaluation of a harm reduction policy for gambling Jean-Michel Costes Chapter 15: Is income derived from problem gambling a good assessment indicator of a responsible gambling strategy? Jean-Michel Costes Chapter 16: Challenges of online gambling for risk and harm reduction Louise Nadeau, Magali Dufour, Richard Guay, Sylvia Kairouz, Jean-Marc Ménard, Catherine Paradis Conclusion Cheryl Dickson, Caroline Dunand, Olivier Simon, Henrietta Bowden-Jones Index

About the Author :
Henrietta Bowden-Jones is a Medical Doctor specialised in Addiction Psychiatry. She is the Founder and Director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, UK and President of the Medical Women's Federation. She is an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College. Cheryl Dickson has a Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology. She specialised post-qualification in the field of problem gambling and has worked since 2009 for the Centre du jeu excessif (Centre for Excessive Gambling), Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland. Caroline Dunand is a Psychologist who has worked for over ten years as a Research Fellow at the Centre du jeu excessif (Centre for Excessive Gambling), Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland. Olivier Simon is a Psychiatrist with a Master of Public Health Degree. He is Head of the Centre du jeu excessif (Centre for Excessive Gambling), Lausanne University Hospital, and Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine at University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Review :
"This book provides an overview of the magnitude and measurement of gambling-related harms as well as the various prevention and treatment approaches available to minimize these harms. This book is exceptionally comprehensive, timely, and written by many of the leaders in the field. An essential resource for policy makers, clinicians, and researchers. Highly recommended." - Professor Robert Williams, Faculty of Health Sciences & Coordinator, Alberta Gambling Research Institute "For most primary care professionals, this book transports us to a new field of addictive disorder. Comprehensive and insightful, it gives an excellent example of the application of public health to the field of gambling. After reading this book, healthcare professionals and those concerned by addictions will have a clear understanding of a modern public health approach, which is based on the latest knowledge, and human rights." - Professor Idris Guessous, Head of the Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals