This edited volume aims to facilitate the evolution of the new public health approach towards gambling. Bringing together the work of international experts, it gives a current overview of the field, highlighting the need for a coordinated framework of prevention and harm reduction measures to replace current "player protection" measures.

Chapters begin by exploring the impact of problem gambling, looking at its effects on several levels, ranging from the individual to the family and society. Subsequently an overview of prevention and harm reduction models is presented, bringing the reader to an in-depth understanding of what a public health approach to gambling would entail. Later chapters focus on potential challenges to monitoring and evaluation, inviting the reader to envisage possible barriers towards implementation and ways of overcoming these. The book concludes with recommendations on how to take a harm reduction approach, from a political and human rights perspective.

This work gives a rare synopsis of the present-day issues when considering the implementation of a harm reduction strategy for gambling. Recent work by key professionals is presented in order to encourage further developments in this ever-changing domain. Such issues will be relevant to all those with an interest in the field of problem gambling, from clinicians, students and healthcare professionals, to politicians.

About the Author

Henrietta Bowden-Jones is a Medical Doctor specialised in Addiction Psychiatry. She is the Founder and Director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, UK and President of the Medical Women's Federation. She is an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College.

Cheryl Dickson has a Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology. She specialised post-qualification in the field of problem gambling and has worked since 2009 for the Centre du jeu excessif (Centre for Excessive Gambling), Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland.

Caroline Dunand is a Psychologist who has worked for over ten years as a Research Fellow at the Centre du jeu excessif (Centre for Excessive Gambling), Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland.

Olivier Simon is a Psychiatrist with a Master of Public Health Degree. He is Head of the Centre du jeu excessif (Centre for Excessive Gambling), Lausanne University Hospital, and Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine at University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Reviews

"This book provides an overview of the magnitude and measurement of gambling-related harms as well as the various prevention and treatment approaches available to minimize these harms. This book is exceptionally comprehensive, timely, and written by many of the leaders in the field. An essential resource for policy makers, clinicians, and researchers. Highly recommended."

- Professor Robert Williams, Faculty of Health Sciences & Coordinator, Alberta Gambling Research Institute

"For most primary care professionals, this book transports us to a new field of addictive disorder. Comprehensive and insightful, it gives an excellent example of the application of public health to the field of gambling. After reading this book, healthcare professionals and those concerned by addictions will have a clear understanding of a modern public health approach, which is based on the latest knowledge, and human rights."

- Professor Idris Guessous, Head of the Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals

Book Information
ISBN 9781138590953
Author Henrietta Bowden-Jones
Format Paperback
Page Count 196
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 299g