In support of its mission, the ICRG continues to seek practical applications for the research it has funded. Examples of applications resulting from NCRG-funded studies include the research-based guide for parents “Talking with Children about Gambling", the development of new instruments for measuring, screening and diagnosing gambling disorders; and development and testing of promising treatment and intervention strategies such as Your First Step to Change.
Perhaps one of the most important impacts of the ICRG has been to encourage new ways of thinking about gambling disorders, leading to an important paradigm shift. Clinicians, researchers and public policy-makers have started to consider gambling from a public health perspective. According to Dr. Howard Shaffer, director at the Division on Addictions, there are four principles that provide the basis for a public health perspective on gambling:
- Scientific research is the foundation of public health knowledge;
- Public health knowledge derives from population-based observations;
- Health initiatives are pro-active (e.g., health promotion and prevention are primary while treatment is secondary); and
- Public health is balanced and considers both the costs and benefits of gambling. A public health perspective not only takes into consideration the impact that disordered gambling has on the community, but it also includes how government, industry and the health care sector all respond to people struggling with a gambling problem.
