Alcohol-related harms and street service care in entertainment districts

Abstract

Purpose Significant alcohol use increases the risk of injuries and violence in young people. The purpose of this paper is to examine factors associated with receiving street service care for alcohol intoxication, alcohol-related injury or violence among young people in a night-time economy (NTE). Design/methodology/approach Participants included 217 young adults, 135 of whom required street service care on a Friday or Saturday evening in an Australian entertainment district. The remaining 88 young adults were a matched control sample. Participants were surveyed and provided a breathalyser sample. A multinomial logistic regression was conducted to examine the relationship between blood alcohol content (BAC) level, subjective intoxication, gender, illicit drug use, age, preloading, total drinks consumed, and the receipt of care for intoxication, injury, or violence. Findings Of those who received care, 70.4 per cent received it for intoxication, 19.3 per cent for injury, and 10.3 per cent following a violent incident. Male gender and high BAC level were associated with receiving support following a violent incident. High-subjective intoxication and female gender were associated with receiving support for injury. Practical implications Results demonstrate the factors associated with receiving street service care for young people in the NTE experiencing non-emergent health needs. Further research is required to examine the impact of such a service on crime, injuries, and frontline service resources. Originality/value This is the first study to examine factors associated with receiving street service care for alcohol intoxication, injury, or violence in a NTE. Results inform policy and practice relating to the provision of street service care in the NTE for non-emergent health problems, and how this interrelates with other frontline services.

The impact of street service care on frontline service utilisation during high‐alcohol use hours in one night‐time entertainment precinct in Australia

“…However, there was no significant change in police-recorded common assaults, ambulance attendances or ED injury presentations during HAH after the implementation of the service. improving the efficacy of their services [11]. The significant reduction in police reported assaults indicates that there were less incidents that required police attention, partially supporting this wider aim.…”

“…Although it was not evaluated in the current study, there is evidence to suggest that the majority of incidents that require street service care would not have required the attention of frontline services [11]. This is consistent with findings from the evaluation of street pastors in Cardiff, which found that the presence of street pastors resulted in greater numbers of individuals requiring assistance, than what would have been expected if they were only treating individuals that would have otherwise attended an ED [15].…”

“…Better management of intoxication may reduce alcohol-related harm, including aggression, in night-time environments [2]. These services appear to work primarily with a younger and more heavily intoxicated subset of the nightlife population [11]. They achieve this primarily through patrolling the streets of the NEP to identify at-risk individuals who may benefit from their services.…”

“…Despite the growth of street services internationally, and the extensive operation of these services in Queensland (see Table 1), there has been limited independent evaluation of their impact on assaults, injuries, and frontline service resources [e.g. police and ambulances; 11,14]. The research available suggests that street service care has an independent impact that reduces alcoholrelated harm in NEPs [11][12][13]; as well as emergency department (ED) attendances and ambulance attendances to EDs for alcohol-related injury and assault [15].…”

“…police and ambulances; 11,14]. The research available suggests that street service care has an independent impact that reduces alcoholrelated harm in NEPs [11][12][13]; as well as emergency department (ED) attendances and ambulance attendances to EDs for alcohol-related injury and assault [15]. However, the level of impact is difficult to quantify as none of the methodologies used in prior literature examined the introduction of street service care.…”