Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences

Background and Objective: Social behaviors are influenced by several variables. Hence, alcohol abuse as a high risk behavior in society cannot be considered apart from the economic, cultural and political systems. The aim of the study was to survey the causes of alcohol consumption in Rafsanjan.

Materials and Methods: It was a retrospective study that triangulated qualitative and quantitative findings of field studies on the epidemiology of alcohol poisoning and qualitative interviews with experts. In the first step, the 80 patients’ information obtained through the questionnaire and in the second step, 24 participants were selected as the study samples. In step one, descriptive statistics and in step two, thematic framework analysis was used to analyze the data.

Results: Based on the quantitative results, all the drinkers were male and 90 percent had a background of alcohol abuse. In addition, 90 percent of them stated that because of unemployment and lack of entertainment, have consumed the alcohol. Also, the qualitative findings revealed that likely in a group of society, the beliefs and values of the society are changing towards materialism and individualism and virtual networks and satellites have caused that social disadvantages go further aggravated.

Conclusion: Alcohol abuse in the studied population is a social harm that has a complex causal network of economic, social, cultural and severe health and security complications for the society. In this regard, therapeutic, disciplinary and legal actions are not effective at on the society micro-level and should be emphasized on preventive social measures.

Key words: Health, Security, High risk behavior, Drug Abuse, Alcohol consumption

Funding: The study has not been funded by the university resources.

Conflict of Interest: None declared

Ethical approval: The study was approved as a research project by Research Center for Health Services Management, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2013 (code No. 92/96).

How to cite this article: Haghdoost AA, Emami M, Esmaili M, Soberinia A, Nezhad Ghaderi M, Mehrolhassani MH. Survey the Status and Causes of Alcohol Consumption: A Case Study of the Epidemic Alcohol Poisoning in Rafsanjan in 2013. J RafsanjanUniv Med Sci 2015 13(10): 991-1006. [Farsi]