Ramamoorthi Ramya, Jayaraj Rama
a School of Psychological and Clinical Sciences , Charles Darwin University , Darwin , Northern Territory , Australia.
J Ethn Subst Abuse. 2015;14(1):1-11. doi: 10.1080/15332640.2014.958642. Epub 2015 Jan 28.
The per capita alcohol consumption of the Northern Territory, Australia, is second highest in the world, estimated 15.1 liters of pure alcohol per year. Alcohol abuse is a major public health concern among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the Northern Territory consume approximately 16.9 liters of pure alcohol per year. This descriptive review is based on current published and grey literature in the context of high risk alcohol use, with a special focus on the epidemiological, etiological, and social factors, to predict alcohol misuse among the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Northern Territory. The methodology involved a descriptive search on PubMed, Northern Territory government reports, health databases, and Web sites with an emphasis on the etiology and epidemiology of high-risk alcohol consumption among the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of the Northern Territory. This review has its own limitations because it does not rely on systematic review methodologies. However, it presents real data on the motives for binge drinking and alcohol-related violent assaults of this vulnerable population. Alcohol abuse and alcohol-related harms are considerably high among the rural and remote communities where additional research is needed. High-risk alcohol misuse within Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders communities often leads to a series of physical and social consequences. This review highlights the need for culturally appropriate intervention approaches focusing on alcohol misuse among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders population of the Northern Territory.
澳大利亚北领地的人均酒精消费量位居世界第二，估计每年为15.1升纯酒精。酒精滥用是澳大利亚原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民群体主要的公共卫生问题。北领地的原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民每年消费约16.9升纯酒精。本描述性综述基于当前已发表的文献和灰色文献，针对高风险饮酒情况，特别关注流行病学、病因学和社会因素，以预测北领地澳大利亚原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民中的酒精滥用情况。该方法包括在PubMed、北领地政府报告、健康数据库和网站上进行描述性检索，重点关注北领地澳大利亚原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民高风险酒精消费的病因学和流行病学。本综述有其自身局限性，因为它未采用系统综述方法。然而，它呈现了关于该弱势群体暴饮动机及与酒精相关暴力袭击的真实数据。在农村和偏远社区，酒精滥用及与酒精相关的危害相当严重，需要进一步研究。澳大利亚原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民社区内的高风险酒精滥用常常导致一系列身体和社会后果。本综述强调需要针对北领地原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民群体的酒精滥用情况采取符合文化习俗的干预措施。
