rp21 situational analysis - Pacific Health Voices

Alcohol
The Samoan Ministry of Health includes a
guide to healthy alcohol consumption on
its website, but it is not clear what level of
access people have to the internet in Samoa
and if this operates as an effective means
of communication. No other alcohol-related
interventions were listed on the website, but
the information did form part of the Healthy
Pacific Lifestyle program, a broader public
health initiative across the Pacific supported
by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. 661
Alcohol-related acts of domestic violence
and child abuse are reportedly increasing in
rural villages, largely (but not always) related
to economic pressures. These are commonly
dealt with by Village Councils of male
matai (chiefs), because there are no police.
Reports show matai are often the perpetrators,
so there is no safe place for the victims
or justice. 662
A STEPS report on alcohol consumption
patterns provides the following data: in the
past 30 days, 75.2 per cent (±6.6) of the
study population had consumed alcohol.
There was a significant gender difference
with 79.9 per cent (±5.8) of males and 47.6
per cent (±12.0) of females having consumed
alcohol in the previous 12 months, a gender
difference that persisted across age groups.
For females, binge drinking was defined
as having four or more standard drinks on
at least one day in the previous week. For
males, binge drinking was defined as having
five or more standard drinks on at least
one day in the previous week. A higher proportion
of males (44.7 per cent (±6.3)) were
recorded as being binge drinkers compared
to females (15.6 per cent (±15.2)).
The gender difference was significant and
persisted across the 25–34 and 35–44 age
groups. In the 55–64 age range, female
binge drinkers were even higher than male
binge drinkers, but not significantly. There
were higher proportions of binge drinkers
in the younger age groups for both males
and females, except 55–64 years for females.
Table 6.2.2.3 in the report shows that the
percentage of abstainers (who did not drink
alcohol in the last year) was 70.6 per cent
(±4.1) — 49.2 per cent (±5.6) for males, and
94.2 per cent (±1.8) for females; there were
significant differences between males and females.
663 Table 6.1.1.1 describes the age and
gender breakdown of the surveyed population
and its relation to the overall sampling
frame. The study population size was 2804:
1291 males and 1513 females.
135
661 Samoan Ministry of Health website, available at: (accessed October 2008) — a similar approach is taken
to tobacco education; SPC Healthy Pacific Lifestyle meeting and recommendations, available
at: (accessed
October 2008).
662 NGO Shadow Report on the Status of Women in Samoa, December 2004, quoting K. Siaosi
Sumeo (2003), A research on processes used to address the physical and sexual abuse in Samoa.
Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. NGO Shadow
Report available at: .
663 Samoa NCD Risk Factors STEPS Report: a collaborative effort between the Samoa Ministry of
Health, World Health Organization and Monash University. Suva: WHO Western Pacific Regional
Office, 2007.
Samoa