Prevention and management of problems related to alcohol abuse in Papua New Guinea through primary health care.

This study is designed to answer three questions: 1) What is the situation in Papua New Guinea today with respect of the use and abuse of alcohol? 2) What are the existing programmes for the prevention and management of problems related to alcohol abuse in PNG? 3) Are the existing programmes of prevention and management integrated into the primary health care system or do they operate separately? The instrument for the study is a questionnaire which was adapted and modified from a World Health Organization sponsored workshop on prevention and management of alcohol and drug abuse problems in Africa held in September 1985 in Lagos. The questionnaires were administered to two groups of Papua New Guineans. The first group comprised community and religious leaders attending a workshop on alcohol education held in Lae in February 1988. The second group consisted of mental health nurses and general nurses working in the capitals of the nineteen provinces and the National Capital District of PNG. The questionnaires were administered to the second group personally or by post. The completed questionnaires were statistically analyzed and form the basis of this article. Legal drinking of alcohol for all mature Papua New Guineans started in 1962 when the law on prohibition was repealed. 'In the twenty years since drinking of alcoholic beverages by everyone of legal majority was allowed in Papua New Guinea, a rather clear-cut national style of alcohol use has developed. This style, if continued, points in a disturbing direction. It will lead to a number of serious problems that can be predicted with assurance because they have occurred in many other parts of the world where similar drinking styles exist.'