Prevalence Of Harms Research Articles

Trends in inequalities of alcohol-related harms among Thai households: 2007-2017

BackgroundTo estimate and compare the socio-economic inequities in alcohol-related harms among households in Thailand between 2007 and 2017 adjusted for socioeconomic status with the proportions of current and binge drinkers in each household. MethodsA secondary data analysis of the 2007 and 2017 National Cigarette and Alcohol Consumption Survey was conducted. The unit of analysis was household-level. Concentration index (CI) was used to measure household income-based inequalities in alcohol-related harms (i.e., workplace, domestic, non-domestic, financial, and drinking-and-driving) in the previous 12 months. ResultsBased on data from two waves of survey (n = 66,776 in 2007 and 39,630 in 2017), the prevalence of households that had at least one member who had an alcohol-related harm event was 21.8% and 26.2% in 2007 and 2017, respectively. The highest prevalence was the drinking-and-driving domain (about 20%). The prevalence increased between 2007 and 2017 with an annual rate of change ranged from 1.2 to 4.4%. All of the CI values were negative for both survey waves, except the drink-and-driving domain in 2007. The CI values for all domains in 2017 had a larger magnitude than in 2007, except the domestic domain. For any alcohol-related harm, the CI value was not significant at +0.002 (Standard error [SE] 0.004) in 2007, but significant at -0.014 (SE 0.004) in 2017. So, the index changed around -0.016. ConclusionsThe poor households had a slightly greater tendency to incur harms from alcohol and there existed more inequality in the prevalence of harms in 2017 compared with 2007.

Dealing with Alcohol-related problems in the Night-Time Economy: A Study Protocol for Mapping trends in harm and stakeholder views surrounding local community level interventions

BackgroundThis project will provide a comprehensive investigation into the prevalence of alcohol-related harms and community attitudes in the context of community-based interventions being implemented to reduce harm in two regional centres of Australia. While considerable experimentation and innovation to address these harms has occurred in both Geelong and Newcastle, only limited ad-hoc documentation and analysis has been conducted on changes in the prevalence of harm as a consequence, leaving a considerable gap in terms of a systematic, evidence-based analysis of changes in harm over time and the need for further intervention. Similarly, little evidence has been reported regarding the views of key stakeholder groups, industry, government agencies, patrons or community regarding the need for, and the acceptability of, interventions to reduce harms. This project will aim to provide evidence regarding the impact and acceptability of local initiatives aimed at reducing alcohol-related harms.Methods/DesignThis study will gather existing police data (assault, property damage and drink driving offences), Emergency Department presentations and Ambulance attendance data. Further, the research team will conduct interviews with licensed venue patrons and collect observational data of licensed venues. Key informant interviews will assess expert knowledge from key industry and government stakeholders, and a community survey will assess community experiences and attitudes towards alcohol-related harm and harm-reduction strategies. Overall, the project will assess: the extent of alcohol-related harm in the context of harm-reduction interventions, and the need for and acceptability of further intervention.DiscussionThese findings will be used to improve evidence-based practice both nationally and internationally.Ethical ApprovalThis project has been approved by Deakin University HREC.

Extending drug ethno‐epidemiology using agent‐based modelling

To show how the inclusion of agent-based modelling improved the integration of ethno-epidemiological data in a study of psychostimulant use and related harms among young Australians. Agent-based modelling, ethnographic fieldwork, in-depth interviews and epidemiological surveys. Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, Australia. Club drug users in Melbourne, recreational drug users in Perth and street-based injecting drug users in Sydney. Participants were aged 18-30 years and reported monthly or more frequent psychostimulant use. Agent-based modelling provided a specific focus for structured discussion about integrating ethnographic and epidemiological methods and data. The modelling process was underpinned by collective and incremental design principles, and produced 'SimAmph', a data-driven model of social and environmental agents and the relationships between them. Using SimAmph, we were able to test the probable impact of ecstasy pill-testing on the prevalence of harms--a potentially important tool for policy development. The study also navigated a range of challenges, including the need to manage epistemological differences, changes in the collective design process and modelling focus, the differences between injecting and non-injecting samples and concerns over the dissemination of modelling outcomes. Agent-based modelling was used to integrate ethno-epidemiological data on psychostimulant use, and to test the probable impact of a specific intervention on the prevalence of drug-related harms. It also established a framework for collaboration between research disciplines that emphasizes the synthesis of diverse data types in order to generate new knowledge relevant to the reduction of drug-related harms.

Interaction of working conditions, job satisfaction, and sickness absences: Evidence from a representative sample of employees

We study the predictors of sickness absences among 2800 Finnish workers responding to the cross-sectional Quality of Work Life Survey in 1997. The data contain detailed information on the prevalence of adverse working conditions at the workplace from a representative sample of wage and salary earners. We show by using recursive multivariate models that the prevalence of harms at the workplace is associated with job dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction with sickness absences. The policy lesson is that the improvement of working conditions should be an integral part of any scheme aimed at decreasing sickness absence.

Mass Torts and the Incentives for Suit, Settlement, and Trial

Author(s): Daughety, Andrew F.; Reinganum, Jennifer F. | Abstract: We explore how the incentives of a plaintiff and her attorney, when considering filing suit and bargaining over settlement, can differ between those suits associated with stand-alone torts cases and those suits involving mass torts. We contrast “individual-based liability determination” (IBLD), wherein a clear description of the mechanism by which a defendant’s actions translate into a plaintiff’s harm is available, with “population-based liability determination” (PBLD), wherein cases rely upon the prevalence of harms in the population to persuade a judge or jury to draw an inference of causation or fault. We show that PBLD creates a “rational optimism effect” on the plaintiff’s side that is inherent in many mass tort settings. For plaintiffs and their attorneys this effect creates incentives for higher settlement demands and results in greater interim joint payoffs and an increased propensity to file suit. Consequently, the defendant in a PBLD case faces an increased ex ante expected cost compared with the IBLD regime, thereby increasing incentives to take care.