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Liquor outlet density, deprivation and implications for foetal alcohol syndrome prevention in the Bergriver municipality in the Western Cape, South Africa
Liquor outlet density, deprivation and implications for foetal alcohol syndrome prevention in the Bergriver municipality in the Western Cape, South Africa
Bowers, Yasmin Rendall-Mkosi, Kirstie Davids, Adlai Nel, Elmarie Jacobs, Nontobeko London, Leslie
Bowers, Yasmin
Rendall-Mkosi, Kirstie
Davids, Adlai
Nel, Elmarie
Jacobs, Nontobeko
London, Leslie
Abstract
Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the most common preventable birth defect in the world, and some South African communities have amongst the highest reported rates. In August 2008, global positioning systems and geographic information systems (GIS) were used to collect data on legal and illegal alcohol outlets in the Bergriver municipality. A total of 112 outlets were recorded and towns with the densest distributions (outlet/km2) were Piketberg and Eendekuil. Spearman coefficients were used to estimate the relationship between alcohol outlet distributions within the study area and the South African Index of Multiple Deprivation. Although not statistically significant, the data are suggestive of an inverse relationship between legal alcohol outlets and deprivation – less deprived areas had higher density of legal alcohol outlets – while the opposite relationship applied for illegal alcohol outlets. GIS provides spatial documentation of determinants of FAS risks amenable to geographically based prevention strategies, as well as providing baseline data to evaluate the effectiveness of liquor legislation aimed at controlling access to alcohol. Results are being repurposed into health education materials that encourage community action to address the social determinants of health outcomes such as FAS.
Description
© 2014 Society of South African Geographers. This is an electronic version of an article published in South African Geographical Journal, vol. 96, no. 2, pp. 153-165, 2014. doi : 10.1080/03736245.2014.901186. South African Geographical Journal is available online at : http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rsag20.
Date
2014-04-14
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Taylor & Francis Group
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Keywords
foetal alcohol syndrome , alcohol accessibility , deprivation , Western Cape , geographic information systems
Citation
Bowers Y, Rendall-Mkosi K, Davids A, Nel E, Jacobs N, London L. Liquor outlet density, deprivation and implications for foetal alcohol syndrome prevention in the Bergriver municipality in the Western Cape, South Africa. South African Geographical Journal. 2014;96(2):153-65.