During 2014, the Division on Addiction launched a new public health event, Gambling Disorder Screening Day. On this day, organizations from around the world administer a brief screen to their client populations and help connect people with potential gambling-related problems with resources. It’s not too late the join the Division on Addiction and its partners for Gambling Disorder Screening Day this year! How can you join? The answer is simple: help promote screening or host a screening day event yourself.
We created this event because although Gambling Disorder has diverse financial, social, psychological, and health-related consequences, few people seek treatment for gambling-related problems. One barrier to treatment seeking might be lack of awareness that a gambling problem exists, both on the part of the individual gambler and on the part of the treatment provider. Therefore, Gambling Disorder Screening Day has two primary aims:
- Our hope is that organizations around the world will use this unifying event to help individuals better understand whether they might have a gambling-related problem.
- In addition, we also seek to provide greater awareness of this issue, particularly among non-specialist providers.
Participation in this event during its first year exceeded our expectations. Continued local, national, and international participation during 2015 and 2016 suggested to us that this event is widely influential and worthy of ongoing support. For example, some treatment organizations have reported back to us that as much as 28% of their clients might be struggling with Gambling Disorder. Without Gambling Disorder Screening Day, it is possible that these individuals might never have become aware of their need for in-depth assessment for Gambling Disorder.
To recognize the early supporters of Gambling Disorder Screening Day, and hopefully encourage others to join this esteemed group, we’d like to thank the following organizations for their partnership in the past and/or for their participation this year:
- Advocates, Inc.
- AllOne Health
- Answer House (Middlesex Human Service Agency)
- Association of Problem Gambling Service Administrators
- Behavioral Health Network
- Boston ASAP
- British Columbia Lottery Corporation
- Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania
- Duffy Health Center
- Gandara Center (St. George Clinic)
- Gavin Foundation
- Harvard University Office of Work/Life
- Institute for Community Health
- International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-risk Behaviors
- International Gaming Institute – UNLV
- KGA, Inc
- Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services
- Massachusetts Gaming Commission
- MDUIL (Middlesex Human Service Agency)
- Auburn Hospital
- National Center for Responsible Gaming
- National Council on Problem Gambling
- New Hampshire Council on Problem Gambling
- North Charles Foundation
- Office of Problem Gambling, California Department of Public Health
- Outpatient Addiction Services CHA
- Screening for Mental Health, Inc.
- SEIGMA
- St. Francis House
- Steppingstone, Inc. Outpatient Treatment Services
- Sullivan House (Middlesex Human Service Agency)
- Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming
- The DUNES of East Hampton
- The Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations
- Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Hong Kong
- University of California, Gambling Studies Program
- VA Boston Healthcare Systems
- Worcester House of Corrections
We hope that you join us for this important event! Download your free Screening Day toolkit here.
— Debi LaPlante, Ph.D.