Responding to COVID-19: Emerging Practices in Addiction Medicine in 17 Countries

Abstract

Following the classification of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic by the World
\nHealth Organization (WHO), countries were encouraged to implement urgent and aggressive
\nactions to change the course of the disease spread while also protecting the physical and mental
\nhealth and well-being of all people. The challenges and solutions of providing prevention,
\ntreatment, and care for those affected with issues related to substance use and addictive
\nbehaviors are still being discussed by the global community. Several international documents
\nhave been developed for service providers and public health professionals working in the field
\nof addiction medicine in the context of the pandemic (1–3), however, less is known about
\ncountry-level responses. In the current paper we, as individual members of the Network of Early
\nCareer Professionals working in Addiction Medicine (NECPAM), discuss emerging country-level
\nguidelines developed in the 6 months following the outbreak.