Media release

From: New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA)

Key points

·         Alcohol by Pacific youth has declined.

·         Surveys on alcohol consumption show limited improvements in hazardous alcohol consumption by Pacific men and women.

·         Pacific men and women are more likely to report hazardous drinking compared to non-Pacific ethnicities.

·         More research is needed for LGBT, Fa’afine or Fakleiti about alcohol issues . The link between NZ Pacific men with masculinity, sport and alcohol consumption.

·         Pacific peoples issues for accessing for alcohol and drug services needs to be explored.

Summary

This is a scoping literature review of recent research exploring alcohol use by Pacific peoples in New Zealand. We conducted a scoping review of published and grey literature written and published between 2009 and 2019. Research was included if the study population, or a clearly identified subgroup of the study population, included one or more Pacific ethnicities and addressed alcohol use. Alcohol consumption by Pacific men has declined significantly to 60% from 70% in 2006/07. However, of those who consume alcohol, 46% meet the threshold for hazardous consumption. Alcohol consumption by Pacific youth has also declined.