Health practitioners, policy makers and the general public have a valuable new tool to help tackle alcohol related issues in their communities after Flinders University’s National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) launched Australia’s first comprehensive online National Alcohol and Drug Knowledgebase.

The Knowledgebase, developed by NCETA with the support of the Australian Government Department of Health, provides access to more than 130 frequently asked questions (FAQs) about alcohol consumption patterns, alcohol use and the workplace, alcohol-related harms, the impact of alcohol consumption on crime and violence, and alcohol treatment. It also provides data on alcohol consumption by young people.

The Knowledgebase was developed to provide a more concise and user-friendly way to access the mass of information contained in existing alcohol-related datasets covering diverse information about health, social welfare, law enforcement and education issues, which have in the past been difficult to locate, access, and utilise.

In launching the Knowledgebase, NCETA Director, Professor Ann Roche, said the Knowledgebase presents, for the first time, up-to-date alcohol-related information in a consistent, comparable and ‘user-friendly’ manner that can be used by practitioners, policy-makers and the broader community.

“All of the available alcohol-related datasets produced in Australia have been sourced in developing the Knowledgebase and as new data becomes available the information will be revised and updated to ensure that people have access to current and reliable information,” Professor Roche said.

Over time, the Knowledgebase will be expanded to include information about a range of illicit and pharmaceutical drugs.

The Knowledgebase can be accessed at http://nadk.flinders.edu.au/or on the NCETA home page at www.nceta.flinders.edu.au