Hazardous drinking and general practitioner visits in the past year.

Aim: To quantify the relationship between any general practitioner (GP) visit and hazardous alcohol use, and whether this differs by sociodemographic factors.

Method: Hazardous alcohol use (scores 8+ Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and any past year GP visits were examined using 2016/17 New Zealand Health Survey data from 13,598 adults. Sub-group analyses examined whether the association differed by age, sex or ethnicity (Māori/non-Māori), and socioeconomic status (NZDep2013) in post-hoc analyses.

Results: Results differed for Māori and non-Māori. Regardless of drinking behaviour, Māori males aged 15-24 years were least likely to visit a GP. Among Māori in each demographic group, GP visits were similar for people meeting hazardous drinking criteria and safer drinkers. Conversely, among non-Māori males aged under 45 and non-Māori females aged 15-24 and 45-64 years, GP visits were 10-13 percentage points higher among people meeting hazardous drinking criteria than safer drinkers. GP visits were lower for people meeting hazardous drinking criteria living in more deprived areas.

Conclusion: Multiple strategies need to be prioritised to address service access particularly for young Māori, and support people drinking at hazardous levels. This includes increasing access to services in various settings, enhancing existing primary health services (eg, cultural responsiveness, alcohol screening, brief interventions), addressing access barriers, and health promotion.