Research

Curiosity, creativity, and a desire to come up with the best solution backed by evidence.

Photo: Pexels

Research focus and topics

The Department of Addictology is a multidisciplinary workplace where scientific and research activities, addiction treatment, and the education of future professionals all take place under one roof.

Moreover, the practice of a large hospital with a deep tradition allows professionals and students to be in daily contact with those who have sought addiction-related help in their lives. The clinic covers the entire spectrum of services. As such, it offers a unique opportunity for rapid knowledge transfer, high-quality training of future professionals, and close contact with people who have experience with addiction or abuse of addictive substances.

In terms of research, the Department of Addictology incorporates the following specialised centres and research groups:

• Public Health Centre for Alcohol-Related Harm
• Centre for Tobacco Use Prevention and Research
• Centre for Research on Education in Addiction Medicine

These are also areas that are strongly represented in the research and scientific section: public health, prevention, education, and development of professional competence.

Publication activities

Our researchers, doctoral students, and postdocs are members of many professional associations and collaborate with numerous international partners and institutions. Most of our scholars publish regularly in leading national and international high-impact journals in the fields of addiction science, medicine, psychology, and other related fields. Experts from the Department of Addictology regularly present the results of their work at prestigious national and international conferences.

Two professional journals have been established as part of the Clinic. Since 2001, scholars have been publishing in the peer-reviewed journal Addictology (Adiktologie). In response to demand from professional groups, the journal Addictology in Prevention and Treatment Practice (APLP) was also launched in 2018. These are the leading journals in the field of addiction science in the Czech Republic.

Addictology

Adiktologie, which currently has a rich publication history of over 20 years, addresses various topics across the entire spectrum of addictions and related problems. A number of international experts in the field have contributed to the content of the journal.

Addictology in Prevention and Treatment Practice

The aim of the APLP is to intensify professional dialogue and link modern scientific knowledge and everyday clinical practice.

Library of Addiction Medicine

The Department of Addictology also manages the Library of Addiction Medicine, offering 2,000+ volumes of professional publications and selected volumes of professional journals. Key publications and outputs of research and development projects carried out by the Department of Addictology and publications from major national and international institutions in the field are also available.

International collaboration

At the national level, the Department partners with a number of institutions and professional societies, including:

• National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addictions (National Focal Point)
• Department of Drug Policy of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic
• National Institute of Public Health
• Institute of Health Information and Statistics

Photo: Vladimír Šigut

Professional societies for professionals working with addiction include the Czech Association of Addiction Professionals, the Society for Addictive Diseases, the Association of Providers of Addiction Services, and the Professional Society for the Prevention of Risk Behaviour. Students may become members of the Czech Association of Students of Addictology.

At the international level, the Department of Addictology collaborates with a number of major actors and policy makers on drug policies and strategies, for instance:

• International Consortium of Universities for Drug Demand Reduction (ICUDDR)
• International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP)
• The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
• International Society of Addiction Journal Editors (ISAJE)
• The European Society for Prevention Research (EUSPR)
• European Public Health Association (EUPHA)
• World Health Organisation (WHO)

Research centres and research groups

Public Health Centre for Alcohol-Related Harm

Head of the Centre: Miroslav Barták, PhD 

The Public Health Centre for Alcohol-Related Harm resolves the long-standing absence of systematic professional work with the media in the field of alcohol, responds to the mass media setting, and corrects incorrect or deliberately distorted information. Its activities include the development and implementation of a long-term media strategy aimed at increasing health literacy in the area of alcohol use and its effects in the wider population and at-risk groups and, no less important, the popularisation of knowledge from different scientific disciplines focusing on the effects of alcohol in the media and the link between research and practice. 

The Centre also operates an informational website Alkohol pod kontrolou that provides verified information for the public, runs an online counselling service, and announces treatment options.

Centre for Tobacco Use Prevention and Research

Head of the Centre: Adam Kulhánek, PhD

The Centre for Tobacco Use Prevention and Research was formally established in 2018 as a specialised public health centre of the Department of Addictology in close cooperation with the National Institute of Health. Its multidisciplinary team consists of experts in the fields of psychology, toxicology, medicine, legislation, addiction medicine, and research. 

The Centre for Tobacco Use Prevention and Research focuses on current and long-term trends in tobacco and nicotine use – e.g. examining the impact of the smoke-free law on tobacco use and motivation to quit, analysing online advertising for heated tobacco products, analysing media messages about e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, monitoring patterns of use of e-cigarettes and new forms of tobacco and nicotine, studying the perceived risk of e-cigarettes among adolescents. In addition to these scholarly activities, the Centre provides training and expert support to professionals and raises awareness of the risks of tobacco and nicotine use among the general public through the media, while its representatives speak at national and international scholarly conferences, publish in scientific journals, and participate in professional meetings on tobacco control issues.

Centre for Research on Education in Addiction Medicine

Head of the Centre: Prof Michal Miovský, PhD

The research group focuses on topics such as the formation of the professional framework and identity of workers in addictology, research in the field of education – from mapping key addiction education programs around the world to establishing international entities such as the International Consortium of Universities Educating in Addiction Medicine (ICUDDR), which was founded by the Department of Addictology. Another important project of the group is its membership in the International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP), an international organisation that brings together workers in addictology from around the world. The work of the research group also includes creating competency models and educating physicians in addiction medicine at the undergraduate level.