Drug and alcohol review
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Drug and alcohol review · Dec 2002
Comparative StudyDiversity of substance use in eastern Arnhem Land (Australia): patterns and recent changes.
The objective of this study was to describe patterns of substance use among remote Aboriginal community populations. The setting was the eastern Arnhem Land ('Miwatj') region of the Northern Territory's (NT) 'Top End', with a population of 4217 Aboriginal people over 15 years of age using a cross-sectional description and comparison. Sample 1 (n = 689) from the region used data from health-worker consensus classification of kava, alcohol, tobacco, petrol and cannabis use. ⋯ Tobacco use patterns in women may have been changing. Average per capita consumption of alcohol was low compared with other 'Top End' areas. Such varied and dynamic substance use patterns pose challenges for research and policy.