Healthcare Training Review

At our sister organisation, Tackling Gambling Stigma, we conducted a comprehensive review of healthcare training materials focused on gambling harm. Our project aimed to evaluate how effectively these training programs equip healthcare professionals and frontline workers to understand and address the stigma associated with gambling harm.

Project Overview

Gambling harm extends beyond the individual—it impacts families, communities, and society at large. However, those affected often hesitate to seek help due to the stigma attached, which is unfortunately perpetuated within healthcare settings. Recognising this, we were commissioned to assess the existing training programs available to healthcare workers. Our review focused on identifying gaps in how these programs address stigma and recommend improvements for the development of future training materials.

Key Findings

Our analysis revealed several critical insights:

1. Inconsistent Quality and Transparency: We found that while multiple organisations offer free training resources, many needed clearer authorship and did not disclose potential conflicts of interest, such as industry funding.
2. Stigmatising Language: A significant portion of the training materials used language that inadvertently blamed individuals for their gambling-related issues, rather than addressing the role of the gambling industry and regulators.
3. Limited Scope: The training programs often failed to adequately cover the broad societal and environmental factors contributing to gambling harm, instead focusing narrowly on individual behaviour.
4. Inadequate Representation of Lived Experience: While some progress has been made in involving individuals with lived experience, many programs still fall short in this area.

Impact

Our findings have drawn attention to the need for a more cohesive and responsible approach to gambling harm in healthcare training. The absence of comprehensive government guidance has led to a fragmented and sometimes counterproductive approach that may cause more harm than good.

Moving Forward

This project underscores our commitment to driving change in how gambling harm is understood and addressed, particularly within the healthcare sector. Our work highlights the urgent need for government action and better training resources that accurately reflect the complexities of gambling harm.

If your organisation is looking to make an impact by improving healthcare responses to gambling harm, we can provide the insights and expertise to help you develop effective training programs that reduce stigma and improve outcomes.

For more information on our healthcare training review and how we can collaborate, please reach out to us. https://vitaca.co.uk/contact/

Together, we can ensure that those affected by gambling harm receive the support they need without the burden of stigma.