@article{ref1,
title="Impact of banning alcohol on outpatient visits in Barrow, Alaska",
journal="JAMA journal of the American Medical Association",
year="1997",
author="Chiu, A. Y. and Perez, P. E. and Parker, Robert Nash",
volume="278",
number="21",
pages="1775-1777",
abstract="CONTEXT: Community availability of alcohol affects alcohol consumption patterns and alcohol-related health and social problems. In Barrow, Alaska, an isolated community at the northernmost reaches of the United States, during a 33-month period, possession and importation of alcohol were legal, completely banned, made legal again, and then banned again. OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of these public policy changes on alcohol-related outpatient visits at the area hospital. DESIGN: Retrospective review of outpatient records; time-series analysis of alcohol-related visits with respect to community alcohol policy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Total monthly outpatient visits for alcohol-related problems. RESULTS: There was a substantial decrease in the number of alcohol-related outpatient visits when the ban on possession and importation was imposed compared with baseline. When the ban was lifted, outpatient visits increased; when the ban was reimposed, the number of outpatient visits again decreased. Interrupted time-series analyses confirm that the alcohol ban, its lifting, and its reimposition had a statistically significant and negative effect on the number of alcohol-related outpatient visits (P<.05). CONCLUSION: In a geographically isolated community, the prohibition of alcohol can be an effective public health intervention, reducing the health problems associated with alcohol use.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0098-7484",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}