Latest update September 8th, 2024 12:46 AM
Nov 19, 2009 News
GENACIS survey to be done
A Gender Alcohol and Culture International Study (GENACIS) is a survey which will be conducted in 2000 homes in Guyana, but will only be done in Regions Four and Six.
The GENACIS survey will be conducted by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Pan America Health Organization (PAHO).
Yesterday, a two-day training session commenced at the Regency Hotel for the persons who will be conducting the survey.
GENACIS is a collaborative project developed by the work of the International Research Group on Gender and Alcohol (IRGGA), an international group of alcohol researchers affiliated with the Kettil Bruun Society for Social and Epidemiological Research on Alcohol.
The objective of the workshop is to train key survey personnel and administrators from Guyana to plan and implement the GENACIS survey.
The Director of Adolescent Health for the Ministry of Health told the gathering that the questionnaire enquires about drinking behaviour, drinking context and drinking consequences.
So far, this survey has been conducted in 37 countries but Guyana is the only English speaking country in the region to be conducting the survey.
Facilitating the two-day training session is GENACIS Consultant Dr. Sharon Wilsnack who noted that alcohol is one of the leading factors for ill health in the Americas. A recent study done, she said looked at the connection between alcohol use and intimate partner violence in ten countries, eight of which were Latin American Countries.
But in all ten countries, there was a strong connection between heavier alcohol use and greater risks of intimate partner violence.
“So findings like these can have important significance for policies and prevention strategies. In this case, if we can reduce heavy, hazardous drinking, we maybe able to reduce levels of intimate partner violence,” Dr. Wilsnack noted.
The survey which will be conducted in Guyana will provide valuable information on the level of alcohol consumption, the types of alcohol related problems and the types of people who are experiencing certain types of problems.
There is also the chance of comparing Guyana’s results to other countries to know what extent the alcohol consumption is currently at.
Meanwhile, PAHO Country Representative, Dr. Kathleen Israel, said that the economic aspect of alcohol and while Guyana is an alcohol producing country, she urged for the need to find ways to balance the production and sales and the consumption of alcohol along with the impact it has on health.
“In 2002, harmful use of alcohol was estimated to cause 2.3 million premature deaths worldwide and be responsible for 4.4 of the global disease burden.”
She explained that the excessive use of alcohol can result in social problems and cause violence in families.
Since 1977, the management team of mental health and substance abuse of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been building the global alcohol data base and later the global information system on alcohol and health providing a reference source of information for global alcohol use, problems and policies.
“Conducting a study is one thing…it’s what’s done with that information once the study is conducted is critical because studies and research is only useful if it will serve to guide policy direction and other kinds of interventions to deal with the issues that were identified in the study.”
Additionally, Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy noted that alcohol has been unequivocally a harmful substance and plays a pivotal role in the underdevelopment of Guyana.
Together with tobacco, alcohol represents two of the most substances that human beings abuse in the Americas. “And the fact is we drink too much in this country…everywhere in the Americas we drink too much…we average 6 liters of pure alcohol per capita in terms of the adult population. 30 per cent of the adult population mainly women, abstain.
Dr. Ramsammy added that it is a myth that alcohol only affects those who use it. “The survey we are about to embark on is to demonstrate what we already know…that alcohol affects hugely people who do not use it…our children are affected by the use of alcohol.”
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