Cost per incident of alcohol‐related crime in New South Wales

Introduction and Aims. The purpose of this paper is to provide a per incident of crime cost measure for New South Wales that is suitable for the use within cost‐effectiveness studies of interventions aimed at reducing the burden of alcohol. This paper seeks to quantify the individual cost of an assault, property damage, sexual offence and disorderly conduct in New South Wales. Design and Methods. Costs regarding the criminal act, police involvement, prosecution in criminal courts and incarceration are estimated and then using a four‐stage probability analysis, the expected cost per incident is calculated. Results. It is found that expected cost per incident for assault, sexual offence, property damage and disorderly conduct (in 2006 dollar values) is $3982, $5976, $1166 and $501 respectively. Discussion and Conclusions. A large total cost figure is a powerful policy motivator; however, for the purpose of economic analysis it is often more useful to estimate the per incident cost. This research furthers the existing research on cost of crime estimates and facilitates future cost‐effectiveness and other economic analysis of interventions that reduce alcohol‐related crime.[Byrnes JM, Doran CM, Shakeshaft AP. Cost per incident of alcohol‐related crime in New South Wales. Drug Alcohol Rev 2012;31:854–860]     

Alcohol consumption and alcohol‐related problems among Vietnamese medical students

Introduction and Aims. This study examined prevalence and predictors of alcohol consumption and alcohol problems in a sample of medical students in Vietnam. Design and Methods. A cross‐sectional survey using a multi‐stage cluster sampling approach was conducted in 2007 in two universities in Vietnam. The students (n = 619, 100% response rate) completed questionnaires based on the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. A score of ≥8 defined presence of alcohol problems. Data analyses adjusted for the cluster sampling approach. Results. Overall 65.5% of students had drunk alcohol during the previous year while alcohol problems were detected in 12.5%. Male students, students who reported that their family members drank and students who reported that their flat mates were drinking were more likely to be current drinkers. Male students were 14.3 times more likely to have an Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test score of ≥8 compared with female students (P = 0.005). Discussion and Conclusions. Intervention programs focusing on male students and their social environment are warranted. As Vietnamese society rapidly modernises prevention programs for female students may also be needed. [Pham DB, Clough AR, Nguyen HV, Kim GB, Buettner PG. Alcohol consumption and alcohol‐related problems among Vietnamese medical students. Drug Alcohol Rev 2009]     

Adolescence to Young Adulthood: When Socioeconomic Disparities in Substance Use Emerge

We examined trends in cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use by eventual educational attainment in 1,902 participants from Project EAT, a 10-year longitudinal study following participants from early adolescence through young adulthood. Generally, for cigarettes and marijuana, disparities were evident by early adolescence with prevalence of use highest among those who had no secondary education. With alcohol, use diverged during young adulthood when the college group reported the most weekly alcohol use while those without postsecondary education reported greatest daily use. When disparities in substance use behaviors first emerge and later escalate can guide how to craft and target interventions.     

Socioeconomic Status and Alcohol Use Among Urban and Rural Residents in China

The association between socioeconomic status (SES) and current regular alcohol use was examined separately for urban and rural residents of Hubei, China, using the third Chinese National Health Service Survey conducted in 2003. A probability sample of 15,609 respondents, ages 15 through 101 years, was selected from the study base. Alcohol use was a dichotomized variable (current regular users vs. others). Multivariate analyses incorporated four SES indicators: income, education, occupation, and house size. Investigation of status discrepancy indicated that income was positively associated with the likelihood of current regular alcohol use, whereas education was negatively associated. For both urban and rural residents, likelihood of current regular alcohol use was smallest for those in the highest education and lowest income category. Further research, which factors in quantity and frequency, is needed to understand how alcohol use among Chinese urban and rural populations impacts their health.     

Why are alcohol‐related emergency department presentations under‐detected? An exploratory study using nursing triage text

Introduction and Aims . This study examined two methods of detecting alcohol‐related emergency department (ED) presentations, provisional medical diagnosis and nursing triage text, and compared patient and service delivery characteristics to determine which patients are being missed from formal diagnosis in order to explore why alcohol‐related ED presentations are under‐detected. Design and Methods . Data were reviewed for all ED presentations from 2004 to 2006 (n = 118 881) for a major teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia. Each record included two nursing triage free‐text fields, which were searched for over 60 alcohol‐related terms and coded for a range of issues. Adjusted odds ratios were used to compare diagnostically coded alcohol‐related presentations to those detected using triage text. Results . Approximately 4.5% of ED presentations were identified as alcohol‐related, with 24% of these identified through diagnostic codes and the remainder identified by triage text. Diagnostic coding was more likely if the patient arrived by ambulance [odds ratio (OR) = 2.35] or showed signs of aggression (OR = 1.86). Failure to code alcohol‐related issues was more than three times (OR = 3.23) more likely for patients with injuries. Discussion and Conclusions . Alcohol‐related presentations place a high demand on ED staff and less than one‐quarter have an alcohol‐related diagnosis recorded by their treating doctor. In order for routine ED data to be more effective for detecting alcohol‐related ED presentations, it is recommended that additional resources such as an alcohol health worker be employed in Australian hospitals. These workers can educate and support ED staff to identify more clearly and record the clinical signs of alcohol and directly provide brief interventions.