Do Community Interventions Targeting Licensed Venues Reduce Alcohol-Related Emergency Department Presentations?

• NCJ Number: 236291
• Journal: Drug and Alcohol Review Volume: 30 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2011 Pages: 546-553
• Author(s): Peter Miller; Anders Sonderlund; Kerri Coomber; Darren Palmer; Karen Gillham; Jennifer Tindall; John Wiggers
• Date Published: September 2011
• Length: 8 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Australian Drug Foundation
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

This study examined the effectiveness of four community interventions in reducing the number of alcohol-related medical issues addressed by the emergency department (ED) in Geelong, Australia, from 2005 to 2009.

Abstract

The community interventions implemented in Geelong have not been linked to a reduction in alcohol-related medical treatment at the (ED). Four interventions related to the Dealing with Alcohol-Related Problems in the Night-time Economy are a closed-circuit television (CCTV) network for surveillance of public areas with high levels of night-time activity, the use of ID scanners in late-night licensed premises in order to identify fake or altered IDs, a campaign involving celebrities and athletes advising people to be responsible in their consumption of alcohol, and police policies of resource allocation designed to increase police visibility in night-life areas. In reporting on stage 1 of the project, the current study examined all alcohol-related injury frequencies before and after the interventions. Auto-regressive integrated moving average time-series were used to determine the effect of the interventions on ED attendance in Geelong. 3 figures, 3 tables, and 20 references