Is it worth emergency departments recording information about alcohol-related assault occurring in inner-city, late-night entertainment precincts?

Abstract

[Extract] A significant proportion of presentations to hospital EDs in Australia are caused by alcohol-related assaults in inner-city, late night entertainment precincts, with significantly more during weekend peak periods. To reduce this kind of violence, both the Queensland Parliamentary Inquiry into Alcohol Related Violence (2010) and the National Preventive Health Strategy (2009) urge more comprehensive data collection to document numbers and types of incidents with both looking to EDs to provide these data. In a pilot study in Cairns, Far North Queensland, we attempted to document all incidents of alcohol-related assault in the inner-city during April, May and June (2010) to inform Cairns agencies implementing community-based and regulatory interventions.