Alcohol use among high school learners in rural areas of Limpopo province

Background: Alcohol use is a serious public health concern among youth in South Africa and worldwide.Aim: To determine the factors contributing to alcohol use among high school learners in the rural areas of Limpopo province.Setting: The Greater Marble-Hall municipality, Sekhukhune district in Limpopo province.Method: A quantitative, cross-sectional study design was conducted on 314 learners from three high schools in a rural area in Limpopo. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select learners from 11 to 25 years of age. The drinking behaviour was classified according to predetermined Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Data were analysed using SPSS Software v23.0.Results: More than half of the respondents were consuming alcohol 169 (53.8%). Also, 173 (55.1%) of respondents had parents who consume alcohol and 204 (65%) had friends who drank alcohol. Most respondents were classified as low-risk drinkers (AUDIT score < 8) and a quarter of the respondents were classified as almost dependent on alcohol (AUDIT score > 13). Significant associations were found between learners' alcohol consumption and parents and friends who drank alcohol (p = 0.000; p = 0.000, respectively).Conclusion: Alcohol use was prevalent among high school learners in the area under investigation. Also, learners who had parents and friends who consume alcohol were more likely to consume alcohol. Further, learners who were classified as almost dependent on alcohol needed urgent intervention as their health-related quality of life was likely to be poor

Medico-legal aspects regarding drunk driving: experience and competency in practice of community service doctors

Background: Drunk driving has been reported to increase the risk of road traffic accidents associated with death and severe injury.In South Africa, an increase in blood alcohol concentration of as little as 0.01 g per 100 ml above the legal limit may warrant criminal prosecution or the denial of an insurance claim for damages. However, multiple court cases have been withdrawn because of the incompetence of officials at various stages of the investigation. The scope of the mistakes range from poor scene handling to the incorrect handling of blood samples at the laboratory to eventual laboratory testing of blood samples. Using a group of community service doctors (CSDs) as a cohort study group, this study investigated the competency of medical graduates in relation to the medico-legal aspects of drunk driving.Methods: A self-administered questionnaire-based study was done with 150 CSDs. The questionnaire was administered in Afrikaans and English and was dispatched electronically via e-mail. All potential participants were contacted telephonically to obtain verbal consent. Results are displayed as percentages.Results: A response rate of 59.3% was achieved. The results obtained in this study confirm that some CSDs lack competency in handling medico-legal aspects relating to drunk driving, and are thus unable to serve the communities they have been assigned to adequately. Their lack of skills and knowledge suggests that the present undergraduate Clinical Forensic Medicine curriculum is inadequate.Conclusion: It would be beneficial to revise the curriculum for Clinical Forensic Medicine in undergraduate medical training to address the gap in knowledge and practice of various demands of forensic medicine required from new medical graduates and CSDs

Alcohol Consumption and High Risk Sexual Behaviour among Female Sex Workers in Uganda

Alcohol consumption has been associated with high risk sexual behaviour among key populations such as female sex workers. We explored the drivers of alcohol consumption and its relationship to high risk sexual behaviour. Participants were drawn from a cohort of 1 027 women selected from 'hot spots' in the suburbs of Kampala city. We conducted 3 in-depth interviews with 40 female sex workers between 2010 and 2011. Data were analysed thematically; focusing on alcohol use within the context of sex work. Alcohol consumption was very high with only seven women reporting that they did not drink. Alcohol consumption was driven by the emotional and economic needs of the participants; but also promoted by clients who encouraged consumption. Many sex workers only started drinking alcohol when they joined sex work on the advice of more experienced peers; as a way to cope with the job. Alcohol was blamed for unsafe sex; acts of violence and poor decision making which increased sexual and physical violence. Alcohol was reported to affect medication adherence for HIV-positive women who forgot to take medicine. The findings suggest that the drivers of alcohol consumption are multifaceted in this group and require both individual and structural interventions. Alcohol reduction counselling can be supportive at the individual level and should be an integral part of HIV prevention programmes for female sex workers and others such as patrons in bars. The counselling should be addressed in a sensitive manner to bar owners and managers

World Health Assembly Resolution "on Public Health Problems Caused by Harmful Use of Alcohol""

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