COVID-19 and the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders (South Africa)

COVID-19, along with associated restrictions, has and continues to impact on the access to and provision of health care services. This talk hones in on the impact on services for substance use disorders, presenting new insights arising from current research.

This talk is introduced by prof Dan Stein, Professor and Head of UCT Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, moderated by Dr Goodman Sibeko, Co-Director of the South Africa HIV Addiction Technology Transfer Centre, and Health of UCT Division of Addiction Psychiatry; and hosted by the South Africa HIV Addiction Technology Transfer Centre (UCT Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health), in partnership with SANCA National and ISSUP SA. A follow up Q&A is included. Prof Bronwyn Myers is the Deputy Director of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit of the South African Medical Research Council where she leads the intervention research sub-stream, with a special interest in effectiveness studies and implementation science.

Prof. Myers has published extensively on the topics of mental and substance use disorders, vulnerable populations, and provision of evidence-based practices. Her talk is titled "COVID-19 and the provision of SUD treatment: local perspectives". She walks us through some of the ways in which COVID restrictions have impacted on barriers to care provision and recover.

Dr Lisa Dannatt is a consultant psychiatrist at Groote Schuur Hospital and senior lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the University of Cape Town. She currently manages the emergency psychiatry service and the addictions psychiatry outpatients’ clinic at Groote Schuur Hospital. She is a member of The South African Addictions Medicine Society (SAAMS) and The Network Early Career Professionals in the field of Addiction Medicine (NECPAM). Dr Dannat's talk is titled "The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Substance Use and Behavioural Addictions Perspectives from Early Career Professionals", which seeks to reflect on international and local perspectives.