Example substance abuse dissertation topic 2:

Drug and alcohol treatment and the NHS: A duty of responsibility rather than a duty of care?

Drug and alcohol related incidences put unprecedented strain on the services of the NHS (and especially A and E departments) at weekends. The NHS has a traditional ‘duty of care’ to treat those in need of care who come through its doors. This dissertation questions whether, particularly in a time of tough economic choices, that ‘duty’ should be reversed. Namely, that those who are repeatedly treated have a duty of responsibility to themselves and to society to amend their behaviour. Adopting the criminal ‘three strikes and you are out’ approach, the dissertation looks at the effects of applying a similar to regimen within the NHS in which failure to address within a given time limit addictive and destructive behaviour should result in treatment being removed and reallocated to those who are prepared to heed medical advice.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Kneale, J. and French, S. (2008) ‘Mapping alcohol: Health, policy and the geographies of problem drinking in Britain’, Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, Vol. 15(3), pp. 233-249.
• Millward, M. (2010) ‘Addiction beliefs: Do staff working in substance misuse and mental health services view clients with co-existing mental health and substance use problems in the same way?’, PhD Thesis, University of Leicester.