A systematic literature review of off-site outlet density and alcohol-related harm

Introduction and Aims: The burden of alcohol-related harm on global health is considerable. In recent years there has been a rapid rise in research into the control of alcohol outlet density in order to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm and increased interest in the causal role of...

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Main Authors: Gordon, Elise, Hobday, M., Gilmore, W., Lensvelt, Eveline, Chikritzhs, T.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33062
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author Gordon, Elise
Hobday, M.
Gilmore, W.
Lensvelt, Eveline
Chikritzhs, T.
author_facet Gordon, Elise
Hobday, M.
Gilmore, W.
Lensvelt, Eveline
Chikritzhs, T.
author_sort Gordon, Elise
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Introduction and Aims: The burden of alcohol-related harm on global health is considerable. In recent years there has been a rapid rise in research into the control of alcohol outlet density in order to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm and increased interest in the causal role of off-outlets in particular. Previous reviews have focussed on either the outlet density literature as a whole or specifically on on-site outlets, no reviews to date have focused solely on effects of off-site outlet on health and crime outcomes. This review aims to consolidate the existing literature on the effect off-site outlet density on alcohol-related harm, weigh the quality and consistency of existing evidence for off-site outlet density effects and identify gaps in the literature. Design and Methods: All peer reviewed articles published prior to 20th January 2015, which investigated associations between off-site outlet density, heat h and crime were systematically reviewed. The review identified 114 relevant publications which were categorised according to quality of design; 36 publications were deemed to have sufficiently robust designs as to be included in the analysis.Results: Of the 36 studies in the final review, 25 (70%) found significant positive associations between off-site outlet density and a range of harms including, but not limited to, assault, gonorrhoea, suicide, risky alcohol use and alcohol-related mortality. Discussion and Conclusions: A dominance of low quality study designs, lack of geographic diversity of study origins, and varied harm outcomes and methodologies complicate the interpretation of results, however, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the control of off-site outlet density is an effective means of reducing alcohol-related harm. Disclosure of Interest Statement: The authors are employed by the National Drug Research Institute, which is funded by the National Drug Strategy, Commonwealth Department of Health. The topic, direction, content, analyses and issues identified in the article were solely the work of the authors and there was no intellectual involvement either directly or indirectly by any of these institutions.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-330622017-01-30T13:34:52Z A systematic literature review of off-site outlet density and alcohol-related harm Gordon, Elise Hobday, M. Gilmore, W. Lensvelt, Eveline Chikritzhs, T. Introduction and Aims: The burden of alcohol-related harm on global health is considerable. In recent years there has been a rapid rise in research into the control of alcohol outlet density in order to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm and increased interest in the causal role of off-outlets in particular. Previous reviews have focussed on either the outlet density literature as a whole or specifically on on-site outlets, no reviews to date have focused solely on effects of off-site outlet on health and crime outcomes. This review aims to consolidate the existing literature on the effect off-site outlet density on alcohol-related harm, weigh the quality and consistency of existing evidence for off-site outlet density effects and identify gaps in the literature. Design and Methods: All peer reviewed articles published prior to 20th January 2015, which investigated associations between off-site outlet density, heat h and crime were systematically reviewed. The review identified 114 relevant publications which were categorised according to quality of design; 36 publications were deemed to have sufficiently robust designs as to be included in the analysis.Results: Of the 36 studies in the final review, 25 (70%) found significant positive associations between off-site outlet density and a range of harms including, but not limited to, assault, gonorrhoea, suicide, risky alcohol use and alcohol-related mortality. Discussion and Conclusions: A dominance of low quality study designs, lack of geographic diversity of study origins, and varied harm outcomes and methodologies complicate the interpretation of results, however, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the control of off-site outlet density is an effective means of reducing alcohol-related harm. Disclosure of Interest Statement: The authors are employed by the National Drug Research Institute, which is funded by the National Drug Strategy, Commonwealth Department of Health. The topic, direction, content, analyses and issues identified in the article were solely the work of the authors and there was no intellectual involvement either directly or indirectly by any of these institutions. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33062 Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. restricted
spellingShingle Gordon, Elise
Hobday, M.
Gilmore, W.
Lensvelt, Eveline
Chikritzhs, T.
A systematic literature review of off-site outlet density and alcohol-related harm
title A systematic literature review of off-site outlet density and alcohol-related harm
title_full A systematic literature review of off-site outlet density and alcohol-related harm
title_fullStr A systematic literature review of off-site outlet density and alcohol-related harm
title_full_unstemmed A systematic literature review of off-site outlet density and alcohol-related harm
title_short A systematic literature review of off-site outlet density and alcohol-related harm
title_sort systematic literature review of off-site outlet density and alcohol-related harm
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33062