Learning from alcohol (policy) reforms in the Northern Territory (LEARNT): protocol for a mixed-methods study examining the impacts of the banned drinker register
Bronwyn Silver,
Tanya Chikritzhs,
Steven Guthridge,
Debbie Scott,
Matthew Stevens,
Robin Room,
Michael Livingston,
Danielle Dyall,
James Smith,
J Ward,
Peter Miller,
Yin Paradies,
Sumon Das,
John Boffa,
Kerri Coomber,
Cassandra J C Wright,
Daile Rung,
Sarah Clifford,
Ryan Baldwin,
Kalinda E Griffiths,
Clare Farmer,
Richelle Mayshak,
Sam Moore,
Jordan Mack,
Vincent Mithen
Affiliations
Bronwyn Silver
14 Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
Tanya Chikritzhs
18 National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Steven Guthridge
7 Child Development, Population Health and Policy, Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia
Debbie Scott
11 Turning Point, Monash University Eastern Health Clinical School, North Richmond, Victoria, Australia
Matthew Stevens
1School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
Robin Room
5 La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Michael Livingston
5 La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Danielle Dyall
15 Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
James Smith
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London, London, UK
J Ward
16 University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Peter Miller
1 Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
Yin Paradies
Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Sumon Das
9 Child Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia
John Boffa
Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
Kerri Coomber
2 Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Cassandra J C Wright
8 Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia
Daile Rung
3 Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia
Sarah Clifford
8 Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia
Ryan Baldwin
2 Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Kalinda E Griffiths
8 Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia
Clare Farmer
2 Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Richelle Mayshak
1 Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
Sam Moore
3 Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Jordan Mack
14 Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
Vincent Mithen
15 Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Introduction The Banned Drinker Register (BDR) was reintroduced in the Northern Territory (NT) in September 2017. The BDR is a supply reduction measure and involves placing people who consume alcohol at harmful levels on a register prohibiting the purchase, possession and consumption of alcohol. The current study aims to evaluate the impacts of the reintroduction of the BDR, in the context of other major alcohol policy initiatives introduced across the NT such as Police Auxiliary Liquor Inspectors and a minimum unit price for alcohol of US$1.30 per standard drink.Methods and analyses The Learning from Alcohol (policy) Reforms in the Northern Territory project will use a mixed-methods approach and contain four major components: epidemiological analysis of trends over time (outcomes include health, justice and social welfare data); individual-level data linkage including those on the BDR (outcomes include health and justice data); qualitative interviews with key stakeholders in the NT (n≥50); and qualitative interviews among people who are, or were previously, on the BDR, as well as the families and communities connected to those on the BDR (n=150). The impacts of the BDR on epidemiological data will be examined using time series analysis. Linked data will use generalised mixed models to analyse the relationship between outcomes and exposures, utilising appropriate distributions. Qualitative data will be analysed using thematic analysis.Ethics and dissemination Ethics approvals have been obtained from NT Department of Health and Menzies School of Health Research Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), Central Australia HREC and Deakin University HREC. In addition to peer-reviewed publications, we will report our findings to key organisational, policy, government and community stakeholders via conferences, briefings and lay summaries.
