Young people with prior health service contacts have increased risk of repeated alcohol-related harm hospitalisations

An article has been published in Drug and Alcohol Review titled “Young people with prior health service contacts have increased risk of repeated alcohol-related harm hospitalisations.”  The article uses data linkage to look at the characteristics of young people aged 12 - 24 who are hospitalised for alcohol-related harm in Western Australia. The study looked at data from 1992 up until 2017, and identified 23 646 young people. Of this group of young people, 21% were readmitted for another episode of alcohol related harm, with 16% of this group readmitted within one month of initial discharge. This high-risk cohort comprised 46% of total alcohol-related admissions. Young people who had higher risks of being readmitted included those with prior health service contact (including mental health contacts and illicit drug hospitalisations) as well as Aboriginal young people. This paper demonstrates the value in working with emergency departments to identify and refer young people who might be at risk of further alcohol and other drug related harms.

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