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Impact of banning alcohol on outpatient visits in Barrow, Alaska
A Y Chiu1, P E Perez, R N Parker
1North Slope Borough Physician Services, Barrow, Alaska, USA.
Context:
Community availability of alcohol affects alcohol consumption patterns and alcohol-related health and social problems. In Barrow, Alaska, an isolated community at the northernmost reaches of the United States, during a 33-month period, possession and importation of alcohol were legal, completely banned, made legal again, and then banned again.
Objective:
To determine the impact of these public policy changes on alcohol-related outpatient visits at the area hospital.
Design:
Retrospective review of outpatient records; time-series analysis of alcohol-related visits with respect to community alcohol policy.
Main Outcome Measures:
Total monthly outpatient visits for alcohol-related problems.
Results:
There was a substantial decrease in the number of alcohol-related outpatient visits when the ban on possession and importation was imposed compared with baseline. When the ban was lifted, outpatient visits increased; when the ban was reimposed, the number of outpatient visits again decreased. Interrupted time-series analyses confirm that the alcohol ban, its lifting, and its reimposition had a statistically significant and negative effect on the number of alcohol-related outpatient visits (P<.05).
Conclusion:
In a geographically isolated community, the prohibition of alcohol can be an effective public health intervention, reducing the health problems associated with alcohol use.
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