Alcohol Consumption among Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders

Alcohol consumption among Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders is a major issue in Australia, perpetuated by poverty and lack of access to healthcare. High risk drinking leads to a range of health and social problems, including violence, family breakdown, and hospitalizations. The National drug strategy and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ drug strategy have been implemented to address this issue, but progress has been slow. Future directions include community-wide alcohol bans and increasing access to a holistic range of services.

What is Alcohol abuse?
Alcohol is one of the most widely used psychoactive substances used in Australia. Alcohol
consumption with the aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander people is taking place at a epidemic
rate, which is being perpetuated in a vicious cycle of poverty leading to lack of access to the health
care facilities and justice ( Fitts et al. 2012).
The extent of Alcohol use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
High risk alcohol consumption was based on the largest quantity of alcohol consumed within
a single day at the time of fortnight (Ramamoorthi et al. 2014). As per the 2012-2013 health survey
collected data, in 2012-2013, 55 % of the Australians have found to be exceeding the single
occasion drinking guidelines, at least once in the last twelve month. Rates of binge drinking among
the adults have been found to be more and the among the indigenous male .Surprisingly, the per
capita alcohol consumption in the northern territory of Australia has been has been found to be the
second largest in the world with an estimation of about 15.1 liters of pure alcohol in a year
(Ramamoorthi et al. 2014). The aboriginal people in the northern territory consume about 16.9 liters
of pure alcohol in a year. In 2018, 17 % of the Australian indigenous people aged 15 years have
reported high risk drinking (Ramamoorthi et al. 2014).
Etiology
High risk drinking among the aboriginals can be due factors like the breaking down of the
customary practices, traditional indigenous customs on alcohol uptake, identity of the indigenous
group, sharing of the ethos that has been introduced culturally, poverty, homelessness , frustration
due to unemployment, homelessness and pay day binge (Gray et al. 2012).
Impact on the consumers
Alcohol misuse is a contributing factor to wide range of health and social problems such as
violence , social disorder, child neglect, family breakdown , loss of income due to purchase of
alcohol and high rates of imprisonments. The personal harm that occurs due to high rates of alcohol
consumption consists of domestic violence, accidents, crimes, suicides leading to hospitalizations
(Gray et al. 2013). Aboriginal women have also been found to be associated with harmful drinking.
Between the years 2014-2017, 28% of the suicides among the aboriginals have been found to be
because of alcohol consumption within the aboriginal communities. The age standardized rates of
the hospitalizations due to alcohol consumption in the years 2012–13, 2013–14 and 2014-15 were
2.7, 2.3 and 2.4 times more than that of the non-indigenous counterparts (Australian government.
2013). As per the reports of the Steering Committee for the Review of the Government Service
provision (SCRGSP), the aboriginal hospitalization rates related to the injuries due to assault has
been found to be between 1.2 to 6.2 times more than that of the hospitalization rates and among
the non-aboriginals due to assault (Australian government. 2013). Deaths related to alcohol have
been found to be 1.2 to 6.2 times higher than that of the non-aboriginal counterparts. The overall
burden of disease due to alcohol consumption has been found to be 8.3 % of the total disease
burden within the non-aboriginal counterparts (Gray et al.2015).
Health Promotion Area [Alcohol abuse]
The initial responses about the harmful alcohol use were not led by the
government but by the Aboriginal people themselves in the year.
According to the Indigenous advancement strategy (IAS), a number of
strategies have been implemented to address the broader social
determinants of the harmful alcohol. The recent government policy that
has been introduced to reduce the alcohol related harm among the
aboriginals are National drug strategy 2017–2026 (NDS) and the National
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ drug strategy 2014–
2019 (NATSIPDS) (Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs Strait Islander
Peoples Drug Strategy,2014). The National drug strategy 2017-2026 is a
tripartite approach for reducing the demand and the supply of alcohol.
 The National drug strategy provided a national framework identifying
the national priorities related to the other types of drugs and alcohols. The
main aim was to develop new and innovative techniques for the
prevention , uptake , delayed first use of the alcohol and other drugs,
mitigate the adverse consequences due to alcohol , restriction of the
availability and improving the national coordination (Alcohol Tobacco and
Other Drug Association ACT 2018).
 While there had been some improvement as proved by various
government reports, but the progress had been really slow may due to
lack of trained staffs or due to lack of proper funding. The strategy did not
get adequate media coverage or the campaigning had not been adequate
to reach the indigenous people. The main limitations for the program were
that there was no effective rehabilitation program or counseling
techniques. There were lacks of community driven programs such as
alcohol management strategies, or easy access to the pharmacotherapy.
There were also lack of proper provisions of the after care services. In all
the administration sectors for this strategy, aboriginal people were not
involved in the decision making process. Hence lack of partnership was an
important reason for the failure of the strategy.
 National alcohol strategy as a sub strategy of the National drug strategy is
being overseen by the Ministerial drug and the alcohol forum (Alcohol
Tobacco and Other Drug Association ACT 2018).
 A radio campaign was implemented in Bourke. The main aim of the
campaign is to examine the impact of the radio advertising campaigns on
the rural aboriginal campaigns in the remote community in Western
Australia. Although a radio can be well trusted tool to disseminate
information in the aboriginal communities in rural Australia but according
to the self-reported data most of the people has not heard any sort of
advertisement or if have heard any advertisement, did not have any idea
where to seek for help (Munro et al. 2017).
Health Promotion Area continued [Alcohol abuse]
A drinking and driving rehabilitation program has been set up in a communication
setting to spread the awareness between the indigenous people about the ill effects
of drinking and the driving (NDLERF 2018). The key focus of the program was to
understand the effect of the drink driving, alcohol and cannabis education. The
program was conducted in a local regional town with the intention to deliver it to the
local indigenous community (NDLERF 2018). One of the barriers to this program are
the transport needs of the indigenous participants, for which they could not get
access to the program.
 Some of the barriers to access the health care campaigns or the health promotion
strategies involves, transportation issues and cost , where the location of the health
care campaign are not near enough. Furthermore the people belonging to the remote
communities often do not have any knowledge about where to seek for help in case
of alcohol related issues. One of the important reason for the ineffectiveness of the
program is the lack of appropriate and credible data regarding alcohol consumption
in the communities.
Successful health promotion in the aboriginal community can be possible by
improving the cross cultural communication skills among the health care workers and
improvement in the tools and techniques for the dissemination (Freeman et al. 2014).
For a cross cultural communication between the aboriginals it is necessary to be
aware of verbal and the non-verbal communication techniques such communicating
with the language that they best understands, being aware of the family and the
structures of kingship, mostly in relation to informed consent. Instructive aids should
be simple and easy to comprehend for the Aboriginal people, such as use of simple
audio-visual aids with signs and symbols (Freeman et al. 2014).
Indigenous people should also be included in the workplace to facilitate a clear
understanding of the grievances and health care problems within the aboriginal
community.
Conduction of culturally sensitive evaluations for training the workers and
understanding of one’s own cultural identity.
Increasing the access to the full range of services by strengthening the partnership
between the aboriginal people, government and the mainstream service providers.
Demand reduction within the community by providing education about alternatives
to alcohol by Adopting proper screening techniques followed by brief intervention.
Increasing the alcohol taxation, indirect price control, community-wide alcohol
bans.
Name/ID/Study period + Year here
Alcohol consumption among the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islander
Figures or tables
Figure 3 Figure : 4
Source: National Drug Strategy Household Survey detailed report 2013. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2014. SUPPLYING
ALCOHOL TO MINORS
Graph
Alcohol risk levels by Indigenous status, persons aged 15 years and over, age-standardized, 2012–13 (Figure 1)
Age-standardized rates for deaths related to alcohol use, NSW, Qld, WA, SA and the NT, 2008–12 (Figure 2)
Figure:1 Figure:2
Source: ABS and AIHW analysis of 2012–13 AATSIHS
Future directions and conclusion
Future direction and conclusions
Community wide alcohol ban is an effective recommendation for the mitigating
alcohol consumption within the aboriginal community. Three sectors have been
identified that should be met to gain control over alcohol- Genuine community
support, commitment of the community council and the agreement on the
enforcement (Ramamoorthi et al. 2015).
With regards to the reports there is greater need to provide access to a
holistic range of services. Hence there is a need of a holistic approach that is
culturally safe and competent and respectful. There is a need to assure that the
organizations that are providing the facilities have both the workforce and the
organizational capacity for delivering them. However, while individual can make
healthy choices about their alcohol use but their choices are often governed by the
social condition of their living. Hence it is the duty of the government to persuade
the citizens to a healthy life style with all the basic amenities available.