With the North East of England presenting a high rate of gambling issues, a £750,000 ($939,000) fund will be used to develop new ways of supporting those affected by gambling-related harm in the North East of England.
The North of England has the highest prevalence of at-risk gamblers, with 4.4% of adults in the North West and 4.9% in the North East being at the highest risk of addiction.
Subsequently, the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) for the North East has successfully bid for £750,000 to develop a regional three-year pilot programme, dedicated to exploring effective ways to reduce the harm caused by gambling.
The funding will go towards the development of: awareness campaigns, training resources for staff and new ways to refer people for treatment.
Part of the funding will be used to independently evaluate the programme. The evaluation work will be led by researchers from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria.
The research will include working with people who have experienced gambling-related issues and measuring the impact of the programme on harm reduction, harm prevention and improvement in health and wellbeing.
Amanda Healy, Director of Public Health at Durham County Council and Chair for ADPH North East, said: “Evidence has shown the North East has higher rates of gambling-related harms than any other region, so we welcome this funding which will enable us to help our most affected communities in the best possible way.
“We are looking forward to working with like-minded partners across the region and are grateful for their support in developing the programme.”
