Projects and Publications

BDZ Digital Health

For over 10 years Reconnexion has been working with Federation University to develop an online self-guided benzodiazepine tapering program called BDZ Digital Health. Originally called BDZ Health, this updated program is version 2.0, revised after a formal evaluation of the original program. Evidence from this evaluation shows that BDZ Digital Health is just as effective at supporting individuals to safely cease their benzodiazepine or z-drug as face-to-face interventions (like Reconnexion’s Benzodiazepine Counselling Program) making it a great option for those unable to access support through us or simply wanting to taper independently.

The Better Sleep Program

Since forming our research partnership with Deakin University back in 2017, Reconnexion recognised the need for providing access to an evidence-based intervention for sleep given how commonly benzodiazepines and z-drugs are prescribed for sleep. Our clinical team of psychologists and AOD workers all have specialised training in CBT-I and over two years developed the Better Sleep Program.  

This stepped-care program was designed to be responsive to both the needs of our clients but also the community more broadly. At present, we have three Doctor of Psychology (Clinical) candidates (Brooke Swierzbiolek, Robin Zhou, and Monique Smith) evaluating the Better Sleep Program in a 2-year trial. We look forward to sharing the results of this study as they emerge. The most recent paper led by Brooke was published in the British Journal of General Practice and explores barriers and facilitators to engagement with psychological interventions for sleep. We were interviewed by the BJGP Life Podcast to discuss some of the findings and what it means for GPs in the management of insomnia.

Reconnexion’s Benzodiazepine Counselling Program

In 2018 Monash University conducted a mixed-methods evaluation of Reconnexion’s Benzodiazepine Counselling Program. The aim of this project was to see just how effective our program was at supporting individuals to cease their medication and if they also experienced improvement to their quality of life. This evaluation led to a comprehensive report on our program, as well as two publications. One reported on the client-related outcomes and gave a brief overview of the program. The other focused on what the work lookedlike between the benzodiazepine counsellors and their clients, to understand what they were doing to support such great outcomes.  

Rural and Regional Project

Although Reconnexion is a state-wide service in Victoria, our clients are mainly based in metro-Melbourne. This, however, does not reflect prevalence rates of benzodiazepine dependence and prescribing across the state, which means we need to be doing more to provide our service to regional and rural Victorians. Since 2021 we have invested in in a project to increase the delivery of training and education to AOD services and primary care clinics around the state, and are continuing to build capacity and networks across these regions. We presented these findings at the VAADA conference in 2023 and are in the final stages of developing a brief report to share with the sector.

ADRIA GRANT: Patient-Centered Deprescribing Project

For her Doctor of Psychology (Clinical) our very own Dr Erin Oldenhof conducted a series of studies emphasising the need for more patient-centered approaches to deprescribing benzodiazepines and z-drugs. Initially, she wrote a paper highlighting the potential for unintended consequences to occur in the wake of real-time prescription monitoring across Australia (SafeScript in Victoria).

After this, Erin conducted a study with individuals who had been taking their benzodiazepines for longer than six months (10 years on average) to understand what hindered their ability to come off these medications and also what might support them to do this. This study was published in the British Journal of General Practice and was received with great enthusiasm, such that Erin and her supervisor (Associate Professor Petra Staiger) were interviewed on the BJGP podcast. The editors of this journal were excited that the paper had clear implications for GPs and could see them apply practical strategies to improve their approach to deprescribing benzodiazepines.

Since then, Reconnexion and Deakin University have been successful in acquiring an ADRIA grant from the Victoria government. This project will involve three studies, with the end goal to deliver an implementation pilot with a small group of primary care clinics, to understand what can be done to support GPs more effectively deprescribe benzodiazepines and z-drugs.

The first study attached to this project is a scoping review, which aimed to identify what had previously been done to support GPs to deprescribe benzodiazepines and/or z-drugs. Findings from this scoping review have gone on to inform a Delphi study. In this study, we aim to achieve a consensus among a group of GP experts on which of the strategies identified in the literature are the most important to support them to routinely initiate the deprescribing process.