ALCOHOL, GENDER, AND CULTURE: Why are they important for policy? Sharon C. Wilsnack, Ph.D. University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA I Pan American Conference on Alcohol Policies Brasilia, Brazil November 29, 2005

GOALS OF PRESENTATION Why are gender and culture important for alcohol policy? Why are gender and culture important for alcohol policy?

GOALS OF PRESENTATION Why are gender and culture important for alcohol policy? Why are gender and culture important for alcohol policy? Brief history of GENACIS and Multicentric StudyBrief history of GENACIS and Multicentric Study

GOALS OF PRESENTATION Why are gender and culture important for alcohol policy?Why are gender and culture important for alcohol policy? Brief history of GENACIS and Multicentric StudyBrief history of GENACIS and Multicentric Study A few examples from Latin AmericaA few examples from Latin America

GENACIS Gender, Alcohol, and Culture: An International Study With funding from: the European Union, the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the World Health Organization, and the Pan American Health Organization.

BUILDING ON PAST EXPERIENCE, GENACIS USES... New Surveys New Surveys Similar Methods Similar Methods Comparable Questions Comparable Questions

GENACIS SURVEYS CONDUCTED IN 36 COUNTRIES (Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Isle of Man, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, UK, Uruguay, USA)

Multicentric Study of Gender, Alcohol, Culture and Harm: New surveys in BelizeBelize BrazilBrazil NicaraguaNicaragua PeruPeru BelizeBelize BrazilBrazil NicaraguaNicaragua PeruPeru

DRINKING PATTERNS IN FIVE LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES

COUNTRY DATA FROM... COUNTRY DATA FROM... Argentina: Myriam Munné Brazil: Florence Kerr-Corrêa Costa Rica: Julio Bejarano Mexico: Maria-Elena Medina-Mora & Martha Romero Uruguay: Raquel Magri USA: Thomas Greenfield

CAUTION: Some surveys represent regions, some entire country

CONCLUSIONSCONCLUSIONS Gender and culture strong influences on alcohol use/abuse Gender and culture strong influences on alcohol use/abuse

CONCLUSIONSCONCLUSIONS Gender- and culture-specific analyses help to identify: Gender- and culture-specific analyses help to identify: * High-risk groups for prevention efforts * High-risk groups for prevention efforts * Potential strategies for prevention and policy * Potential strategies for prevention and policy

CONCLUSIONSCONCLUSIONS Gender and culture strong influences on alcohol use/abuseGender and culture strong influences on alcohol use/abuse Gender- and culture-specific analyses help to identify:Gender- and culture-specific analyses help to identify: * High-risk groups for prevention efforts * High-risk groups for prevention efforts * Potential strategies for prevention and policy * Potential strategies for prevention and policy PAHO’s Multicentric Study a valuable resource for alcohol policy development in the Americas PAHO’s Multicentric Study a valuable resource for alcohol policy development in the Americas

THANK YOU Ben Taylor Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Toronto, Ontario, Canada Arlinda Kristjanson University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences Grand Forks, ND, USA

Contact Information Sharon C. Wilsnack Department of Clinical Neuroscience University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences P.O. Box 9037 Grand Forks, ND USA