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ABSTRACT
This study aimed to identify patients' sub-groups through measures of socio-demographic variables, alcohol consumption and alcohol health literacy. Instruments were administered to a sample of 118 patients in Colombia. Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) was used to identify subgroups of individuals with common characteristics. Two groups were identified: one of women with good knowledge about alcohol consequences, low acceptability of regular alcohol intake, lower levels of alcohol drinking, and less openness to discussing alcohol with health practitioners; and one of men with lower levels of knowledge, higher levels of cultural acceptability of drinking, higher levels of consumption, and more openness to discussing alcohol. Results indicate that the higher the risk of alcohol, the more openness to discussing alcohol with health practitioners.
Keywords: alcohol drinking, health literacy, primary health care
INTRODUCTION
Alcohol consumption is a leading contributor to the global non-communicable disease burden (Lim et al., 2012; Whiteford et al., 2015), associated with adverse social and economic consequences that extend beyond the individual drinker to their families, communities and society as a whole (World Health Organization, 2011). Alcohol consumption is a major contributor to global health inequalities, with alcohol-related harm aggravated by lower socio-economic status (Probst et al., 2014). Latin America has the highest alcohol-attributable disease burden after Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, with particularly high risks in alcohol-attributable traffic injury and violence (Shield et al., 2020). Over one in five drinkers in Latin America engage in heavy episodic drinking at least monthly, with men drinking more often and in higher quantities than women in most countries (Blanco et al., 2016).
The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a global target to reduce the harmful use of alcohol by 10% between 2010 and 2025 (WHO 2013). WHO launched its SAFER initiative that calls on governments at all levels to: (1) Strengthen restrictions on alcohol availability; (2) Advance and enforce drunk driving counter measures; (3) Facilitate access to screening, brief interventions and treatment; (4) Enforce bans or comprehensive restrictions on alcohol advertising, sponsorship, and promotion; and (5) Raise prices on alcohol through excise taxes and pricing policies (WHO 2020).
Questionnaire-based measurement and brief advice programs delivered in Primary Health Care (PHC) are effective and cost-effective (Levin et al. 2015; O'Donnell et al. 2016; Anderson et al....