Congratulations to Dr Scott Sims, Biostatistician at the School of Population and Global Health, UWA on completing his PhD!
His research explored alcohol-related harm (ARH) in young people, using longitudinal linked data to inform policy, prevention and practice.
ARH is a critical issue for young Australians, but hospital records often miss the full scope due to diagnostic gaps. By linking emergency department, hospital, and police data, Dr Sims uncovered significant under-identification of ARH, especially among young women and Aboriginal populations in Western Australia. Notably, nearly half of young people hospitalised for ARH experience repeated incidents, with mental health issues and illicit drug use as key risk factors.
Other key findings include:
- 71% of hospital admissions resulting from alcohol-related police incidents go unrecognised as ARH in hospital records, meaning the true scale of the problem is vastly underreported
- Women are 10 times more likely than men to be victims in police-recorded ARH incidents, yet their hospitalisations are often not coded as ARH in hospital data.
His findings highlight the need for improved methods of identifying ARH through integrated data sources and advanced analytics. Strengthening data systems and embracing innovative technologies will be essential for informing effective public health responses and policies.
