Browsing by Subject "Alcohol"

Now showing 1 - 12 of 12
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    A descriptive study of treatment provision for problem alcohol drinking in adult males in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa
    (BioMed Central, 2017-12-04) Saban, Amina; Morojele, Neo; London, Leslie
    Background: Poor, Black African males are underrepresented as patients in facilities that treat problem drinking in Cape Town, South Africa. Reasons for this remain unclear, but factors such as the kinds of treatment provided, perceptions of treatment efficacy, social stigma and traditional treatment beliefs have been suggested as possible barriers to treatment seeking. This descriptive study examined the availability and nature of problem drinking treatment facilities in Khayelitsha, a largely poor township of Black, Xhosa-speaking Africans, on the outskirts of Cape Town. Methods: Seven treatment facilities for problem drinking in adult males were identified using data from the Department of Social Development in the City of Cape Town. Staff members were identified as key informants at each of the treatment facilities, and were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Twelve interviews were conducted. Results: Findings indicated that the available alcohol treatment facilities were relatively new, that treatment modalities varied both across and within treatment facilities, and that treatment was provided largely by social workers. Treatment facilities did not accommodate overnight stay for patients, operated during weekday office hours, and commonly referred patients to the same psychiatric hospital. Discussion: The study provides a baseline for assessing barriers to treatment for problem drinking in Khayelitsha by highlighting the nature of available facilities as playing a predominantly screening role with associated social work services, and a point of referral for admission to a psychiatric institution for treatment. The social and financial implications of such referral are pertinent to the discussion of treatment barriers. Conclusions: Recommendations are made to inform policy towards locally-provided integrated care to improve treatment provision and access.
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    An agent-based model of binge drinking, inequitable gender norms and their contribution to HIV transmission, with application to South Africa
    (2023-07-29) Johnson, Leigh F.; Kubjane, Mmamapudi; de Voux, Alex; Ohrnberger, Julius; Tlali, Mpho
    Abstract Background Binge drinking, inequitable gender norms and sexual risk behaviour are closely interlinked. This study aims to model the potential effect of alcohol counselling interventions (in men and women) and gender-transformative interventions (in men) as strategies to reduce HIV transmission. Methods We developed an agent-based model of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, allowing for effects of binge drinking on sexual risk behaviour, and effects of inequitable gender norms (in men) on sexual risk behaviour and binge drinking. The model was applied to South Africa and was calibrated using data from randomized controlled trials of alcohol counselling interventions (n = 9) and gender-transformative interventions (n = 4) in sub-Saharan Africa. The model was also calibrated to South African data on alcohol consumption and acceptance of inequitable gender norms. Binge drinking was defined as five or more drinks on a single day, in the last month. Results Binge drinking is estimated to be highly prevalent in South Africa (54% in men and 35% in women, in 2021), and over the 2000–2021 period 54% (95% CI: 34–74%) of new HIV infections occurred in binge drinkers. Binge drinking accounted for 6.8% of new HIV infections (0.0–32.1%) over the same period, which was mediated mainly by an effect of binge drinking in women on engaging in casual sex. Inequitable gender norms accounted for 17.5% of incident HIV infections (0.0–68.3%), which was mediated mainly by an effect of inequitable gender norms on male partner concurrency. A multi-session alcohol counselling intervention that reaches all binge drinkers would reduce HIV incidence by 1.2% (0.0–2.5%) over a 5-year period, while a community-based gender-transformative intervention would reduce incidence by 3.2% (0.8–7.2%) or by 7.3% (0.6–21.2%) if there was no waning of intervention impact. Conclusions Although binge drinking and inequitable gender norms contribute substantially to HIV transmission in South Africa, recently-trialled alcohol counselling and gender-transformative interventions are likely to have only modest effects on HIV incidence. Further innovation in developing locally-relevant interventions to address binge drinking and inequitable gender norms is needed.
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    Efficacy of an alcohol-focused intervention for improving adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and HIV treatment outcomes – a randomised controlled trial protocol
    (2014-09-12) Parry, Charles D; Morojele, Neo K; Myers, Bronwyn J; Kekwaletswe, Connie T; Manda, Samuel O; Sorsdahl, Katherine; Ramjee, Gita; Hahn, Judith A; Rehm, Jürgen; Shuper, Paul A
    Abstract Background Little research has examined whether alcohol reduction interventions improve antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and HIV treatment outcomes. This study assesses the efficacy of an intervention for reducing alcohol use among HIV patients on ART who are hazardous/harmful drinkers. Specific aims include adapting a blended Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Problem Solving Therapy (PST) intervention for use with HIV patients; evaluating the efficacy of the intervention for reducing alcohol consumption; and assessing counsellors’ and participants’ perceptions of the intervention. Methods/Design A randomised controlled trial will evaluate the intervention among ART patients in public hospital-based HIV clinics in Tshwane, South Africa. We will recruit patients who are HIV-positive, on ART for at least 3 months, and classified as harmful/hazardous drinkers using the AUDIT-3. Eligible patients will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions. Patients in the experimental group will receive the MI-PST intervention to reduce harmful/hazardous alcohol use. Patients in the equal-attention wellness intervention group will receive an intervention focused on addressing health risk behaviours. Patients in the control condition will receive treatment as usual. Participants will complete an interviewer-administered questionnaire at baseline and 3, 6 and 12 months post-randomisation to assess alcohol consumption, ART adherence, physical and mental health. We will also collect biological specimens to test for recent alcohol consumption, CD4 counts and HIV RNA viral loads. The primary outcome will be reduction in the volume of alcohol consumed. Secondary outcomes include reduction in harmful/hazardous use of alcohol, reduction in biological markers of drinking, increase in adherence rates, reductions in viral loads, and increases in CD4 T-cell counts. A process evaluation will ascertain counsellors’ and participants’ perceptions of the acceptability and effectiveness of the interventions. Discussion We have obtained ethical approval and approval from the study sites and regional and provincial health departments. The study has implications for clinicians, researchers and policy makers as it will provide efficacy data on how to reduce harmful/hazardous alcohol consumption among HIV patients and will shed light on whether reducing alcohol consumption impacts on HIV treatment adherence and other outcomes. Trial registration Pan African Clinical Trials Register Number: PACTR201405000815100 .
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    Hazardous and Harmful use of Alcohol and / or Other Drugs and Health Status Among South African Patients Attending HIV Clinics
    (Springer, 2013) Kader, R; Seedat, S; Govender, R; Koch, J R; Parry, C D
    There is growing recognition of the influence of substance use, particularly alcohol use, on HIV disease progression. This study investigated how hazardous/harmful use of alcohol and drugs impacts the health status of 1503 patients attending HIV clinics. Of the sample, 37 % indicated hazardous/harmful drinking and 13 % indicated a drug problem. Hazardous/harmful use of alcohol and drugs was significantly related to health status, with participants using substances more likely to have TB-positive status (χ2 = 4.30, p < 0.05), less likely to be on ARVs (χ2 = 9.87, p < 0.05) and having lower CD4 counts (t = 4.01, p < 0.05). Structural equation modelling confirmed the centrality of hazardous/harmful use of alcohol as a direct and indirect determinant of disease progression. Based on these findings it is recommended that patients attending HIV clinics be routinely screened for problematic alcohol and/or drug use, with strong emphasis on ensuring ARV adherence in those with problematic alcohol use.
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    How does a change in the excise tax on beer impact beer retail prices in South Africa?
    (2017-06-06) Russell, Caitlan; Van Walbeek, Corne
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    Modelling of batch and fed-batch ethanol fermentation
    (1989) Glyn, Julian E H; Hansford, Geoffrey Spearing
    Two series of batch and fed-batch fermentations were carried out using S.cerevisiae in a semi-defined medium containing 200 gl-1 glucose as limiting substrate. Growth rates were calculated and the data used to test the applicability of eight empirical kinetic models. The form proposed by Levenspiel, combining the concept of a limiting ethanol concentration with a power-law form, gave the best results with these data. Glucose concentration was found to have a far smaller, though not negligible, effect on growth rate under these conditions. It was also observed that in fed-batch fermentations the total substrate uptake rate of the broth became constant soon after commencement of feeding, without cessation of growth. It is suggested that ethanol inhibits the synthesis of a rate-controlling enzyme in the glycolyti·c chain, but no previous work could be found to support or refute this explanation. A quasi-mechanistic model of growth under the condition of constant substrate consumption rate is formulated and discussed.
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    Negative attributions towards people with substance use disorders in South Africa: Variation across substances and by gender
    (Biomed Central Ltd, 2012) Sorsdahl, Katherine; Stein, Dan; Myers, Bronwyn
    BACKGROUND:Little research has examined attitudes towards people who use substances in low and middle income countries (LMIC). Therefore, the present study examined the attributions made by the general South African population about people who use substances and whether these attributions differ by the type of substance being used, the gender of the person using the substance, or the characteristics of the person making the attribution.METHOD:A convenience sample of 868 members of the general public was obtained through street-intercept methods. One of 8 vignettes portraying alcohol, cannabis, methamphetamine or heroin, with either a male or female as the protagonist was presented to each respondent. Respondents' attitudes towards the specific cases were investigated. RESULTS: Respondents held equally negative views of the presented substances, with the exception of the cannabis vignette which was considered significantly less "dangerous" than the alcohol vignette. Respondents were more likely to offer "help" to women who use alcohol, but more likely to suggest "coercion into treatment" for men. Individuals who scored higher on the ASSIST were more likely to hold negative attitudes towards substance users and black African respondents were more likely to offer help to individuals who use substances. CONCLUSION: The stigma associated with substance use in South Africa is high and not necessarily dependent on the drug of choice. However, a range of factors, including gender of the substance user, and ethnicity of the rater, may impact on stigma. Interventions designed to strengthen mental health literacy and gender-focused anti-stigma campaigns may have the potential to increase treatment seeking behaviour.
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    Problem drinking as a risk factor for tuberculosis: a propensity score matched analysis of a national survey
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2013) Cois, Annibale; Ehrlich, Rodney
    BACKGROUND:Epidemiological and other evidence strongly supports the hypothesis that problem drinking is causally related to the incidence of active tuberculosis and the worsening of the disease course. The presence of a large number of potential confounders, however, complicates the assessment of the actual size of this causal effect, leaving room for a substantial amount of bias. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the role of confounding in the observed association between problem drinking and tuberculosis, assessing the effect of the adjustment for a relatively large number of potential confounders on the estimated prevalence odds ratio of tuberculosis among problem drinkers vs. moderate drinkers/abstainers in a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of the South African adult population. METHODS: A propensity score approach was used to match each problem drinker in the sample with a subset of moderate drinkers/abstainers with similar characteristics in respect to a set of potential confounders. The prevalence odds ratio of tuberculosis between the matched groups was then calculated using conditional logistic regression. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the results in respect to misspecification of the model. RESULTS: The prevalence odds ratio of tuberculosis between problem drinkers and moderate drinkers/abstainers was 1.97 (95% CI: 1.40 to 2.77), and the result was robust with respect to the matching procedure as well as to incorrect adjustment for potential mediators and to the possible presence of unmeasured confounders. Sub-population analysis did not provide noteworthy evidence for the presence of interaction between problem drinking and the observed confounders. CONCLUSION: In a cross-sectional national survey of the adult population of a middle income country with high tuberculosis burden, problem drinking was associated with a two fold increase in the odds of past TB diagnosis after controlling for a large number of socio-economic and biological confounders. Within the limitations of a cross-sectional study design with self-reported tuberculosis status, these results adds to previous evidence of a causal link between problem drinking and tuberculosis, and suggest that the observed higher prevalence of tuberculosis among problem drinkers commonly found in population studies cannot be attributed to the confounding effect of the uneven distribution of other risk factors.
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    Results of a cluster randomised controlled trial to reduce risky use of alcohol, alcohol-related HIV risks and improve help-seeking behaviour among safety and security employees in the Western Cape, South Africa
    (BioMed Central, 2015-05-08) Burnhams, Nadine Harker; London, Leslie; Laubscher, Ria; Nel, Elmarie; Parry, Charles
    Objective: To test the effectiveness of a programme aimed at reducing the risky use of alcohol and alcohol-related HIV risk and increase help-seeking behaviour among a sample of municipal employees in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Methods: A clustered randomised controlled trial was conducted in 2011–2012 among 325 employees. The eight hour intervention, Team Awareness (TA), addressing behavioural risk among employees was administered to 168 employees in the intervention arm and the 157 employees in the control arm who received a one-hour wellness talk. Results: The results show that TA had the greatest impact on risky drinking practices and hangover effects. There was a significant group × time interaction (F (1, 117) = 25.16, p < 0.0001) with participants in the intervention condition reducing number of days on which they engaged in binge drinking. There was also a significant time effect with participants in the intervention condition reducing the likelihood of going to work with a hangover (F (1,117) = 4.10, p = 0.045). No reduction in HIV-related risk behaviours were found. Conclusions: This intervention study was able to demonstrate a modest but significant reduction in risky drinking practices and hangover effects. This provides encouraging evidence for the effectiveness of interventions that address risky use of alcohol among employed persons, further providing a launch pad for strengthening and replicating future RCT studies on workplace prevention, especially in developing country settings. Clinical Trial Registration Number: Pan-African Control Trial Registry (201301000458308).
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    The 'dop' system around Stellenbosch--results of a farm survey
    (1998)
    OBJECTIVES: To document the number of farms operating a 'dop' system (payment of workers with alcohol instead of wages), to estimate the number of farm workers affected, to describe how the system operated and to characterise adverse social conditions on the farms. POPULATION: Farms served by the mobile clinics of the Cape Metropolitan Council's Health Department in the Stellenbosch area. METHODS: Cross-sectional prevalence survey. Nurses collected data from patients attending mobile clinics. RESULTS: A prevalence of 9.5% was detected in respect of farms operating the dop system, with an estimated 780 workers affected. The most common practice was a daily provision of 750 ml wine to male workers. Social conditions on the farms in question were poor and wages were low. Child malnutrition was the most common health problem identified. CONCLUSION: The dop system, although illegal, has been documented to occur in the Stellenbosch area. Programmes to address the dop system and alcohol abuse, based on a primary health care approach, are a priority in the rural areas of the Western Cape.
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    The developmental effects of HIV and alcohol: a comparison of gestational outcomes among babies from South African communities with high prevalence of HIV and alcohol use
    (2017) Donald, Kirsten A M; Fernandez, Anne; Claborn, Kasey; Kuo, Caroline; Koen, Nastassja; Zar, Heather; Stein, Dan J
    BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence of the negative impact of alcohol on morbidity and mortality of individuals living with HIV but limited evidence of in utero effects of HIV and alcohol on exposure on infants. METHODS: We conducted a population-based birth cohort study (N = 667 mother-infant dyads) in South Africa to investigate whether maternal alcohol use and HIV affected gestational outcomes. Descriptive data analysis was conducted for all variables using frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, and estimates of variance. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to determine whether maternal alcohol use, maternal HIV status and other risk factors (socioeconomic status, smoking, depression) predicted infant outcomes. RESULTS: Our results showed severity of recent alcohol use and lifetime alcohol use predicted low birth weight. Similarly lifetime alcohol use predicted shorter infant length, smaller head length, smaller head circumference, and early gestational age. However, HIV status was not a significant predictor of gestational outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The unexpected finding that maternal HIV status did not predict any of the gestational outcomes may be due to high rates of ART usage among HIV-infected mothers. The potentially negative effects of HIV on gestational outcomes may have been attenuated by improved maternal health due to high coverage of antiretroviral treatment in South Africa. Interventions are needed to reduce alcohol consumption among pregnant mothers and to support healthy growth and psychosocial development of infants.
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    The developmental effects of HIV and alcohol: a comparison of gestational outcomes among babies from South African communities with high prevalence of HIV and alcohol use
    (BioMed Central, 2017-05-08) Donald, Kirsten A M; Fernandez, Anne; Claborn, Kasey; Kuo, Caroline; Koen, Nastassja; Zar, Heather; Stein, Dan J
    Background: There is growing evidence of the negative impact of alcohol on morbidity and mortality of individuals living with HIV but limited evidence of in utero efects of HIV and alcohol on exposure on infants. Methods: We conducted a population-based birth cohort study (N = 667 mother-infant dyads) in South Africa to investigate whether maternal alcohol use and HIV afected gestational outcomes. Descriptive data analysis was conducted for all variables using frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, and estimates of variance. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to determine whether maternal alcohol use, maternal HIV status and other risk factors (socioeconomic status, smoking, depression) predicted infant outcomes. Results: Our results showed severity of recent alcohol use and lifetime alcohol use predicted low birth weight. Similarly lifetime alcohol use predicted shorter infant length, smaller head length, smaller head circumference, and early gestational age. However, HIV status was not a signifcant predictor of gestational outcomes. Conclusions: The unexpected fnding that maternal HIV status did not predict any of the gestational outcomes may be due to high rates of ART usage among HIV-infected mothers. The potentially negative efects of HIV on gestational outcomes may have been attenuated by improved maternal health due to high coverage of antiretroviral treatment in South Africa. Interventions are needed to reduce alcohol consumption among pregnant mothers and to support healthy growth and psychosocial development of infants.