Impact of banning alcohol on outpatient visits in Barrow, Alaska.

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.