The hidden costs of employee drinking: A quantitative analysis.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Alcohol use impacts workplace productivity in terms of absence and reduced performance by employees. This study's aims were to estimate the cost of lost productivity associated with alcohol use in New Zealand and to describe and quantify its impact on employers. DESIGN AND METHODS: An online survey was completed by 800 New Zealand employees and 227 employers across a range of industries. The costs of lost productivity directly attributable to alcohol use were estimated using days off work (absenteeism), lost hours of productive time while at work (presenteeism) and hours spent by employers dealing with alcohol-related issues. Ordinal logistic regression was used to explore the association between employee characteristics and reduced workplace productivity associated with alcohol consumption. RESULTS: The estimated annual average cost of lost productivity per employee was NZ$1097.71 (NZ$209.62 absenteeism, NZ$888.09 presenteeism) and NZ$134.62 per employer. At a population level this equates to approximately NZ$1.65 billion per year. The significant predictors of reduced workplace performance were being younger (less than 25 years), male, having a stressful job and drinking more than the recommended standard number of drinks per session. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Considering absenteeism costs alone will substantially underestimate the total productivity loss associated with alcohol use. Designing and effectively targeting a set of multifaceted policies to engineer change at both the workplace and societal levels will assist in reducing the costs of lost productivity.

Acceptability and feasibility pilot randomised controlled trial of medical skin camouflage for recovery of women prisoners with self-harm scarring (COVER): the study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Self-harm in prison is a major public health concern. Less than 5% of UK prisoners are women, but they carry out more than a fifth of prison self-harm. Scars resulting from self-harm can be traumatising and stigmatising, yet there has been little focus on recovery of women prisoners with self-harm scarring. Medical skin camouflage (MSC) clinics treat individuals with disfiguring skin conditions, with evidence of improved well-being, self-esteem and social interactions. Only one community study has piloted the use of MSC for self-harm scarring. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We describe an acceptability and feasibility pilot randomised controlled trial; the first to examine MSC for women prisoners who self-harm. We aim to randomise 20-25 women prisoners to a 6-week MSC intervention and 20-25 to a waitlist control (to receive the MSC after the study period). We aim to train at least 6-10 long-term prisoners with personal experience of self-harm to deliver the intervention. Before and after intervention, we will pilot collection of women-centred outcomes, including quality of life, well-being and self-esteem. We will pilot collection of self-harm incidents during the intervention, resources used to manage/treat self-harm and follow-up of women at 12 weeks from baseline. Data on recruitment, retention and dropout will be recorded. We aim for the acceptability of the intervention to prison staff and women prisoners to be explored in qualitative interviews and focus groups. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval for COVER has been granted by the North East-York Research Ethics Committee (REC) for phases 1 and 2 (reference: 16/NE/0030) and West of Scotland REC 3 for phases 3 and 4 (reference: 16/WS/0155). Informed consent will be the primary consideration; it will be made clear that participation will have no effect on life in prison or eligibility for parole. Due to the nature of the study, disclosures of serious self-harm may need to be reported to prison officials. We aim for findings to be disseminated via events at the study prison, presentations at national/international conferences, journal publications, prison governor meetings and university/National Health Service trust communications. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02638974; Pre-results.

The role of alcohol price in young adult drinking cultures in Scotland.

Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) is one of the Scottish Government's key policy options to reduce alcohol consumption and related harm. Although strongly evidenced for efficacy in reducing headline population level consumption, efficacy in changing the role of alcohol in Scottish culture is unknown. Questions remain as to how MUP will play across population subgroups with different sensitivities to price. In this paper we explore the views of the young adult population and situate the influence of price paid for alcohol alongside broader cultural drivers of consumption. Qualitative data from two studies investigating the role of alcohol in the transition to adulthood from 130 participants (aged 16-30) are analysed to situate the influence of price paid in shaping drinking styles and practices. Findings highlight how considerations of price paid for alcohol compete with non-financial considerations associated with choosing to drink excessively, moderately or not at all. Two broad categories of response to potential price increases were anticipated by drinkers which indicate that young adults are not a homogenous group in relation to price sensitivity. These differences highlight the potential for variation in subgroup responses to a pricing policy conceived to be effective at a population level.