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Alcohol and drugs strategic plan: equality impact assessment summary

Summary of the equality impact assessment (EqIA) undertaken to accompany Scotland’s alcohol and drugs strategic plan.


References

1 The Scottish Health Survey 2024, Scottish Government, 2025

2 Estimated Prevalence of Opioid Dependence in Scotland 2014/15 to 2022/23, Public Health Scotland, 2025

3 Drug-related hospital statistics - Scotland 2024 to 2025, Public Health Scotland, 2026

4 Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 2024, National Records of Scotland, 2025

5 Benzodiazepine use - current trends: evidence review; Scottish Government; 2022

6 The National Drug-Related Deaths Database (Scotland) Report: Analysis of Deaths Registered in 2019 and 2020 - National drug related death database (Scotland) - Publications - Public Health Scotland Public Health Scotland, 2024

7 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Scotland Study , University of Glasgow; World Health Organisation Collaborative Cross-National Study (HSBC), 2023

8 Drug-related hospital statistics - Scotland 2024 to 2025, Public Health Scotland, 2026

9 Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 2024 , National Records of Scotland, 2025

10 Alcohol-specific deaths 2024, National Records of Scotland, 2025

11 Alcohol consumption and harms dashboard, Public Health Scotland, accessed February 2026

12 Alcohol-specific deaths 2024, National Records of Scotland, 2025

13 Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 2024, National Records of Scotland, 2025

14 Drug and alcohol information system (DAISy) overview of initial assessments for specialist drug and alcohol treatment 2024/25. Public Health Scotland; 2026

15 Drug and alcohol information system (DAISy) overview of initial assessments for specialist drug and alcohol treatment 2024/25. Public Health Scotland; 2026

16 Young people experiencing harms from alcohol and drugs: literature and evidence review, Scottish Government, 2021

17 Older People with Drug Problems in Scotland: Addressing the needs of an ageing population; Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF); 2017

18 The National Drug-Related Deaths Database (Scotland) Report: Analysis of Deaths Registered in 2019 and 2020 - National drug related death database (Scotland) - Publications - Public Health Scotland Public Health Scotland, 2024

19 Systematic review of guidelines for managing physical health during treatment for substance use disorders: Implications for the alcohol and other drug workforce. Osborne, B., et al. 2022, Drug and Alcohol Review

20 What are LGBTQ+ people’s experiences of alcohol services in Scotland? A qualitative study of service users and service providers, Dr Elena Dimova, Dr Rosaleen O’Brien, Prof Lawrie Elliott, Dr Jamie Frankis and Prof Carol Emslie, SHAAP, 2022

21 Non-opiate and cannabis drug use in minority ethnic groups, National Centre for Social Research, 2024

22 Health needs assessment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and non-binary people, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, NHS Lothian, Public Health Scotland; 2022

23 Evaluation of the National Mission on Drug Deaths: Lived experience survey, Public Health Scotland, 2025

24 Systematic review of guidelines for managing physical health during treatment for substance use disorders: Implications for the alcohol and other drug workforce. Osborne, B., et al. 2022, Drug and Alcohol Review

25 The Needle and the Damage Done: A Retrospective Review of the Health Impact of Recreational Intravenous Drug Use and the Collateral Consequences for Vascular Surgery. MacLeod, C., et al. 2022, Annals of Vascular Surgery

26 Pathways into, through and out of Residential Rehabilitation in Scotland: Results from the Residential Rehabilitation Providers Survey, Scottish Government, 2021

27 The Scottish Health Survey 2024, Scottish Government, 2025

28 Estimated Prevalence of Opioid Dependence in Scotland: 2014/15 to 2022/23, Public Health Scotland, 2025

29 Alcohol consumption and harms dashboard, Public Health Scotland, accessed Feb 2026.

30 Drug-related hospital statistics - Scotland 2024 to 2025, Public Health Scotland, 2026

31 Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 2024, National Records of Scotland, 2025

32 Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 2024, National Records of Scotland, 2025

33 Why are drug-related deaths among women increasing in Scotland? - research findings, Scottish Government, Tweed et al; 2018

34 Drug and alcohol information system (DAISy) overview of initial assessments for specialist drug and alcohol treatment 2024/25. Public Health Scotland; 2026

35 Lived experience survey - National Mission evaluation, Public Health Scotland, 2025

36 Why are drug-related deaths among women increasing in Scotland? - research findings, Scottish Government, Tweed et al; 2018

37 Repeat violence in Scotland: a qualitative approach, Scottish Government, 2023.

38 Maternity and neonatal discharges, ScotPHO, Public Health Scotland, 2025. Note that this data should be interpreted with caution as some NHS Boards continue to have high percentages of missing or unknown data and issues with the quality of the known data have also been identified.

39 Births in Scotland - Technical report, Public Health Scotland, 2024

40 Determining the pattern and prevalence of alcohol consumption in pregnancy by measuring biomarkers in meconium, Abernethy, C. et al., 2018

41 Why are drug-related deaths among women increasing in Scotland? - research findings, Scottish Government, Tweed et al; 2018

42 Sexual orientation health inequality: Evidence from Understanding Society, the UK Longitudinal Household Study, Cara L Booker, Gerulf Rieger, Jennifer B Unger, 2017

43 Health needs assessment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and non-binary people, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, NHS Lothian, Public Health Scotland; 2022

44 Mental Health Equality Evidence Report 2023, Scottish Government, 2023

45 What are LGBTQ+ people’s experiences of alcohol services in Scotland? A qualitative study of service users and service providers, Dr Elena Dimova, Dr Rosaleen O’Brien, Prof Lawrie Elliott, Dr Jamie Frankis and Prof Carol Emslie, SHAAP, 2022

46 The social context of LGBT people’s drinking in Scotland, Dr Carol Emslie, Ms Jemma C. Lennox and Dr Lana Ireland, SHAAP, 2015

47 Health needs assessment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and non-binary people, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, NHS Lothian, Public Health Scotland; 2022

48 Sexual orientation health inequality: Evidence from Understanding Society, the UK Longitudinal Household Study, Cara L Booker, Gerulf Rieger, Jennifer B Unger, 2017

49 Health needs assessment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and non-binary people, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, NHS Lothian, Public Health Scotland; 2022

50 What are LGBTQ+ people’s experiences of alcohol services in Scotland? A qualitative study of service users and service providers, Dr Elena Dimova, Dr Rosaleen O’Brien, Prof Lawrie Elliott, Dr Jamie Frankis and Prof Carol Emslie, SHAAP, 2022

51 The social context of LGBT people’s drinking in Scotland, Dr Carol Emslie, Ms Jemma C. Lennox and Dr Lana Ireland, SHAAP, 2015

52 Rapid evidence review: Drinking problems and interventions in black and minority ethnic communities, Gleeson, H., et al., Middlesex University, 2019

53 Non-opiate and cannabis use in minority ethnic groups, National Centre for Social Research, 2024

54 Rapid evidence review: Drinking problems and interventions in black and minority ethnic communities, Gleeson, H., et al., Middlesex University, 2019

55 Non-opiate and cannabis use in minority ethnic groups, National Centre for Social Research, 2024

56 Perceptions of residential rehabilitation among referrers, Public Health Scotland, 2024

57 Exploring demand for, and perceptions of, residential rehabilitation amongst people who experience problems with drugs across Scotland, Public Health Scotland, 2024

58 ‘Reputation, reputation, reputation! Oh, I have lost my reputation!’; A literature review on alcohol addiction in the British Sikh and/or Punjabi community and the barriers to accessing support, Kuar, Alcohol and Alcoholism, 2024

59 Barriers and facilitators to accessing inpatient and community substance use treatment and harm reduction services for people who use drugs in the Muslim communities: A systematic narrative review of studies on the experiences of people who receive services and service provider, Al-Ghafri et al., Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2023

60 National drug related death database (Scotland): Analysis of Deaths Registered in 2019 and 2020, Public Health Scotland, 2024

61 Scotland’s Equality Evidence Strategy 2023-2025, Scottish Government

Contact

Email: alcoholanddrugsplan@gov.scot

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