Prevalence of work hour alcohol use and associated factors among psychiatrists in China

Abstract

Background Since 2012, work-hour alcohol use (WHAU) has been prohibited in China. However, there is a lack of national data on WHAU among healthcare workers, including psychiatrists. Methods We collected data from psychiatrists in 41 tertiary psychiatric hospitals using an online questionnaire, which included demographics, work-related factors, WHAU, and the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C). Results Out of 2911 psychiatrists who completed the survey, 4.29% reported having heard (3.13%) or witnessed (1.17%) WHAU among colleagues, and .51% (95% CI: .26%–.78%) admitted to their own WHAU. Most participants (95.57%) reported awareness of the policy against WHAU. Poisson regression demonstrated the unawareness of WHAU policy (incidence-rate ratios [IRR] 11.08; 95% CI: 3.56–34.52; P < .001), lower income (IRR .87; 95% CI: .79–0.96; P = .008), and higher AUDIT-C scores (IRR 1.48; 95% CI: 1.22–1.80; P < .001) were significantly associated with WHAU occurrences. Conclusions The survey indicates that WHAU among psychiatrists is more prevalent than expected, correlating with insufficient awareness of hospital policies. This suggests a need for targeted educational interventions.