Prioritization of methods for assessing alcohol use in emergency room settings: findings from a qualitative study

Williams, Petal Petersen, Prinsloo, Megan, Erasmus, Jodilee, Parry, Charles D.H., Matzopoulos, Richard and Peden, Margaret M. (2025) Prioritization of methods for assessing alcohol use in emergency room settings: findings from a qualitative study. Health Policy and Planning, 40 (5). pp. 548-555. ISSN 0268-1080

Microsoft Word (rba08-czaf016) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (213kB)

Abstract

Limited alcohol-related injury data in hospital settings globally underscore the need for routine monitoring to inform policy formulation for injury prevention, especially in addressing violence and road traffic injuries. COVID-19 and the related alcohol sales bans in South Africa in 2020–21 brought the impact of alcohol on trauma presenting to health facilities into sharp focus and highlighted the absence of practical, cost-effective, and accurate alcohol diagnostic tools in emergency rooms This qualitative study aims to identify valuable alcohol-related information for stakeholders to inform a validation study of alcohol diagnostics for injury-related trauma. We conducted five virtual focus group discussions (FGDs) with four groups of stakeholders: clinicians (n = 9), academics (n = 4), hospital and other operational staff (n = 6), and policymakers (n = 4). FGDs were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Coding and thematic analyses were conducted using NVivo version 12. Results highlighted the belief that alcohol places a burden on the healthcare system and plays a significant role in injury causation and mortality. Currently, robust alcohol assessment in emergency rooms is lacking. Despite acknowledging that quantified blood alcohol levels would not change acute clinical management, there was consensus regarding the need-to-know patients’ alcohol usage to inform long-term management and broader public health objectives. Findings support plans to validate the efficacy of selected alcohol diagnostic tools in public hospital settings and to further test their feasibility and utility at a national level.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	alcohol,diagnostic,injuries,road traffic,surveillance,violence,medicine(all),sdg 3 - good health and well-being,sdg 16 - peace, justice and strong institutions ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	06 Mar 2026 15:30
Last Modified:	17 Mar 2026 01:22
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/102242
DOI:	10.1093/heapol/czaf016

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item