Understanding recent Australian trends in alcohol consumption and harms
February 2016
Staff:
Professor Tanya Chikritzhs
Other investigators:
Principal Investigator: Dr Michael Livingston, Centre for Alcohol Policy Research
Professor Robin Room, Centre for Alcohol Policy Research
Associate Professor Belinda Lloyd, Turning Point
Professor Paul Dietze, Burnet Institute
Project description:
This project attempts to explain puzzling recent trends in alcohol consumption and harm in Australia. Measures of population drinking have been broadly stable over the past fifteen years, while many measures of alcohol related harm have increased sharply. This represents either a failure of the key theory underpinning public health approaches to alcohol policy or a failure of data collection. The study will use quantitative methods on a range of pre-existing data sources (including population surveys and administrative data from health and social agencies) to assess competing explanations for these diverging trends.
