The Impact of an Indigenous Led, Community-Based Trial to Reduce Alcohol Related Harms in New South Wales, Australia

Mieke Snijder

Introduction: Indigenous people of Australia experience a higher burden of health-related harm compared to non-Aboriginal Australians, which is most starkly evidenced by the Aboriginal life expectancy being an estimated 10 years less than non-Aboriginal Australians. This health disadvantage imposed on Aboriginal Australians is a consequence of the complex legacy of generational trauma, the aetiology of which includes colonisation (dispossession, forced relocation, stolen generations), racism, social disadvantage and exclusion. For the purpose of this paper, the specific manifestation of generational trauma on which the community-designed intervention aimed to impact is the disproportionately high rates of substance abuse harm among Aboriginal, compared to non-Aboriginal Australians. The alcohol related burden of disease, for example, is 6.1 times higher for Aboriginal men than non-Aboriginal men. Smoking rates are approximately three times higher for Aboriginal Australians (45-50% prevalence) than for non-Aboriginal Australians.

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate a community-based, Indigenous led intervention to reduce alcohol harms in three Indigenous communities in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

Methods: A multiple baseline desievaluation design. Police recorded criminal incident data from BOCSAR were analysed using multi-level Poisson regression model to investigate individual and community characteristics associated with ARC. Using the results, community-based activities were developed and implemented with Aboriginal people in three regional communities. BOCSAR data was used to evaluate the impact of the community-based activities on rates of ARC.

Results: A significant reduction in ARC committed by young Aboriginal people on high risk alcohol times after implementation of community-based activities targeting these characteristics.

Conclusion: This study used criminal incident data to develop and evaluate community-based programs to reduce ARC among young Aboriginal people in regional NSW.

This abstract was submitted to the 2017 Society for Prevention Research Annual Meeting.