Kowanyama injury surveillance report: injuries & alcohol management plans

[Extract] Forward. As a means of controlling alcohol availability in many Indigenous communities across Queensland, Alcohol Management Plans (AMPs) were implemented in the early 2000’s [1, 2]. Known as ‘carriage limits’ restrictions were placed on the quantity and type of alcohol allowed [1, 2]. In 2008 AMPs were again reviewed in Queensland’s Indigenous communities and as a result some communities entered total prohibition and others experienced more stringent liquor restrictions number of [2,3]. Kowanyama was one of the communities who entered prohibition. This is the third report of a larger National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC, Early Career Fellowship #1070931) funded study on alcohol related injuries and resilience. The study follows the methodology and recommendations of Gladman et al [4] who conducted a study of injury in 5 Cape York communities between 1995 and 1996. Similarly this project aims to describe and categorise injuries in three remote Indigenous communities in Cape York, far north Queensland, Australia. AMPs were initially implemented to reduce violence in communities, in particular violence against women and children[1,2,3]. As such, a clinical file audit for the time periods January 2006 to December 2008 and January 2009 to December 2011 was conducted to capture the pre and post prohibition time frames of recent alcohol controls in the communities. Importantly a clinical file audit of this time period would capture any reduction in injury rates and provide indicators of violence rates in the communities. Describing the numbers and types of injuries suffered by Kowanyama community people this report will also elicit whether any changes occurred during the periods January 2006 to December 2008 and January 2009 to December 2011.The role of alcohol and the association of injuries sustained due to alcohol consumption either by the individual with the injury or caused by a secondary association to alcohol consumption (e.g. assault by intoxicated other) will also be explored. This project has received full ethical approval (H5618 & H5241) and was considered and supported by the Indigenous Leaders’ Forum of the Local Government Association of Queensland, which included the duly elected Mayors, and CEOs from all affected Queensland communities. The authors hope that this report provides an understanding of the impacts of alcohol related injury and violence for Indigenous Australians and assists in the development of better preventative strategies