Editorial: Changing addiction problems and care responses during and after a major crisis: emergence of a ‘new normal'

Editorial on the Research Topic
Changing addiction problems and care responses during and after a major crisis: emergence of a ‘new normal'

A major crisis can be understood as a significant societal event that disrupts the status quo in many spheres of life. Whether man-made (like revolutions, wars, or economic catastrophes) or natural disasters (like earthquakes, forest fires, or pandemics), crises are often polyphonic, with several disruptions happening simultaneously. Crises have occurred throughout the history of humanity, and the contemporary world continues to witness many, ranging from COVID-19 to wars to revolutions to natural disasters. Furthermore, crises put an enormous strain on societal resources and preparedness to mitigate their effects needs to be significantly improved and better understood. High-income countries may have relatively more resources prior to a crisis, but in the absence of crisis mitigation systems and processes, they may prove ill-prepared and still be left helpless. Lessons from Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) that have mitigated various risks over extended periods of time could thus be invaluable. This Research Topic brings together diverse research contributions on addiction in the context of crises, with a focus on both damage during and after a crisis, and the opportunities for innovation and improvement post-crisis. Collectively, these contributions begin to unpack key lessons about how addiction treatment systems at all levels—individual patients and providers, facilities, and institutions of national and international caliber—cope with and adapt to crises. They also examine the extent to which emergency solutions for providing addiction treatment services during a crisis are sustainable over time and the changes they can set in motion. Most importantly, this Research Topic shines light on empirical evidence that lifts the “fog of crisis”, to highlight the experiences and implications of crisis from the perspectives of different stakeholders and to build an understanding of the reality of what has happened.