Alcohol management plans in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australian communities in Queensland: community residents have experienced favourable impacts but also suffered unfavourable ones

Alan R. Clough; Stephen A. Margolis; Adrian Miller; Anthony Shakeshaft; Christopher M. Doran; Robyn McDermott; Robert Sanson-Fisher; Valmae Ypinazar; David Martin; Jan A. Robertson; Michelle S. Fitts; Katrina Bird; Bronwyn Honorato; Simon Towle; Caryn West

doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3995-8

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Alcohol management plans in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australian communities in Queensland: community residents have experienced favourable impacts but also suffered unfavourable ones

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Alcohol management plans in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australian communities in Queensland: community residents have experienced favourable impacts but also suffered unfavourable ones

Alan R. Clough, Stephen A. Margolis, Adrian Miller, Anthony Shakeshaft, Christopher M. Doran, Robyn McDermott, Robert Sanson-Fisher, Valmae Ypinazar, David Martin, Jan A. Robertson, …

BMC Public Health, Vol.17, pp.1-14

2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3995-8

PMID: 28068977

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Abstract

Alcohol

Indigenous

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Australian

Legal intervention

Evaluation

Background In Australia, ‘Alcohol Management Plans’ (AMPs) provide the policy infrastructure for State and Commonwealth Governments to address problematic alcohol use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. We report community residents’ experiences of AMPs in 10 of Queensland’s 15 remote Indigenous communities. Methods This cross-sectional study used a two-stage sampling strategy: N = 1211; 588 (48%) males, 623 (52%) females aged ≥18 years in 10 communities. Seven propositions about ‘favourable’ impacts and seven about ‘unfavourable’ impacts were developed from semi-structured interviews. For each proposition, one-sample tests of proportions examined participant agreement and multivariable binary logistic regressions assessed influences of gender, age (18–24, 25–44, 45–64, ≥65 years), residence (≥6 years), current drinking and Indigenous status. Confirmatory factor analyses estimated scale reliability (ρ), item loadings and covariances. Results Slim majorities agreed that: AMPs reduced violence (53%, p = 0.024); community a better place to live (54%, 0.012); and children were safer (56%, p < 0.001). More agreed that: school attendance improved (66%, p < 0.001); and awareness of alcohol’s harms increased (71%, p < 0.001). Participants were equivocal about improved personal safety (53%, p = 0.097) and reduced violence against women (49%, p = 0.362). The seven ‘favourable’ items reliably summarized participants’ experiences of reduced violence and improved community amenity (ρ = 0.90). Stronger agreement was found for six ‘unfavourable’ items: alcohol availability not reduced (58%, p < 0.001); drinking not reduced (56%, p < 0.001)); cannabis use increased (69%, p < 0.001); more binge drinking (73%, p < 0.001); discrimination experienced (77%, p < 0.001); increased fines, convictions and criminal records for breaching restrictions (90%, p < 0.001). Participants were equivocal (51% agreed, p = 0.365) that police could enforce restrictions effectively. ‘Unfavourable’ items were not reliably reflected in one group (ρ = 0.48) but in: i) alcohol availability and consumption not reduced and ii) criminalization and discrimination. In logistic regressions, longer-term (≥ 6 years) residents more likely agreed that violence against women had reduced and that personal safety had improved but also that criminalization and binge drinking had increased. Younger people disagreed that their community was a better place to live and strongly agreed about discrimination. Current drinkers’ views differed little from the sample overall. Conclusions The present Government review provides an opportunity to reinforce ‘favourable’ outcomes while targeting: illicit alcohol, treatment and diversion services and reconciliation of criminalization and discrimination issues.

Details

Title: Alcohol management plans in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australian communities in Queensland: community residents have experienced favourable impacts but also suffered unfavourable ones
Authors: Alan R. Clough (Corresponding Author) - James Cook University
Stephen A. Margolis - Griffith University
Adrian Miller - Griffith University
Anthony Shakeshaft - UNSW Sydney
Christopher M. Doran - Central Queensland University
Robyn McDermott - Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine
Robert Sanson-Fisher - University of Newcastle Australia
Valmae Ypinazar - Griffith University
David Martin - Australian National University
Jan A. Robertson - James Cook University
Michelle S. Fitts - James Cook University
Katrina Bird - James Cook University
Bronwyn Honorato - James Cook University
Simon Towle - James Cook University
Caryn West - James Cook University
Publication details: BMC Public Health, Vol.17, pp.1-14
Publisher: BioMed Central Ltd.
Date published: 2017
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-016-3995-8
ISSN: 1471-2458
PMID: 28068977
Copyright note: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Data Availability: The datasets during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Grants: Alcohol Management Plans (AMPs) in remote Indigenous communities: Their impacts on injury, violence, health and social indicators and their cost-effectiveness in Cape York, far north Queensland, 1042532, National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - NHMRC
Resilience in individuals and families coping with the impacts of alcohol related injuries in remote Indigenous communities: a program of mixed method research , 1070931, National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - NHMRC
Reducing Psychosocial Distress and Injury Linked With Substance Misuse in Remote Indigenous Communities Requires Interventions to Be Implemented as Promised and Robust Evaluation Methodologies Which Can Reliably Measure Their Impacts?, 1046773, National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - NHMRC
Grant note: Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute-funded Centre for Research Excellence for the Prevention of Chronic Conditions in Rural and Remote High Risk Populations at James Cook University & University Adelaide.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Psychology
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991241462302621
Output Type: Journal article

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