Aims Cannabis use adversely affects adolescents and interventions that are attractive to adolescents are needed. This trial compared the effects of a brief motivational intervention for cannabis use with a brief educational feedback control and a no-assessment control. Design Participants were randomized into one of three treatment conditions: Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), Educational Feedback Control (EFC) or Delayed Feedback Control (DFC). Those assigned to MET and EFC were administered a computerized baseline assessment immediately following randomization and completed assessments at the 3- and 12-month follow-up periods. Participants in the DFC condition were not assessed until the 3-month follow-up. Following the completion of treatment sessions, all participants were offered up to 4 optional individual treatment sessions aimed at cessation of cannabis use. Setting High schools in Seattle, WA, USA. Participants 310 self-referred adolescents who smoked cannabis regularly. Measurements Main outcome measures included days of cannabis use, associated negative consequences, and engagement in additional treatment. Findings At the 3-month follow-up, participants in both the MET and EFC conditions reported significantly fewer days of cannabis use and negative consequences compared to DFC. Frequency of cannabis use was less in MET relative to EFC at 3 months, but did not translate to differences in negative consequences. Reduction in use and problems were sustained at 12-months but there were no differences between MET and EFC interventions. Engagement in additional treatment was minimal and not different by condition. Conclusions Brief interventions can attract and have positive impacts on adolescent cannabis users, but the mechanisms of the effects are yet to be identified.

Background: Little is known about the response mechanisms among survivors of disasters. We studied the selective attrition and possible bias in a longitudinal study among survivors of a fireworks disaster.

A broad range of health problems are related to disasters. Insight into these health problems is needed for targeted disaster management. Disaster health outcome assessment can provide insight into the health effects of disasters.During the 15th World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine in Amsterdam (2007), experts in the field of disaster epidemiology discussed important aspects of disaster health outcome assessment, such as: (1) what is meant by disaster health outcome assessment?; (2) why should one conduct a disaster health outcome assessment, and what are the objectives?, and (3) who benefits from the information obtained by a disaster health outcome assessment?A disaster health outcome assessment can be defined as a systematic assessment of the current and potential health problems in a population affected by a disaster. Different methods can be used to examine these health problems such as: (1) rapid assessment of health needs; (2) (longitudinal) epidemiological studies using questionnaires; (3) continuous surveillance of health problems using existing registration systems; (4) assessment of the use and distribution of health services; and (5) research into the etiology of the health effects of disasters.The public health impact of a disaster may not be immediately evident. Disaster health outcome assessment provides insight into the health related consequences of disasters. The information that is obtained by performing a disaster health outcome assessment can be used to initiate and adapt the provision of health care. Besides information for policy-makers, disaster health outcome assessments can contribute to the knowledge and evidence base of disaster health outcomes (scientific objective). Finally, disaster health outcome assessment might serve as a signal of recognition of the problems of the survivors.Several stakeholders may benefit from the information obtained from a disaster health outcome assessment. Disaster decision-makers and the public health community benefit from performing a disaster health outcome assessment, since it provides information that is useful for the different aspects of disaster management. Also, by providing information about the nature, prevalence, and course of health problems, (mental) health care workers can anticipate the health needs and requirements in the affected population.It is important to realize that the disaster is not over when the acute care has been provided. Instead, disasters will cause many other health problems and concerns such as infectious diseases and mental health problems. Disaster health outcome assessments provide insight into the public health impact of disasters.

Given the prevalence of regular marijuana use among adolescents and associated risks for adverse consequences to functioning, effective interventions are needed that are tailored for this population. To date, most such counseling approaches have relied on non-voluntary participation by adolescent marijuana smokers and the outcomes have been only modestly successful. The Teen Marijuana Check-Up is a brief motivational enhancement intervention publicized as a non-pressured and confidential opportunity for the teen marijuana smoker to “take stock” of his/her use. The intervention is designed for in-school implementation and intended to elicit the teen's voluntary participation. This paper highlights the manner in which adolescents are recruited, key intervention elements, the nature of the counseling style utilized, and clinical challenges. The outcomes of two trials with this intervention are briefly discussed.