Alcohol Use Among Drivers of Commercial Vehicles in Calabar Nigeria: Pattern, Consequences and Social Determinants of Use

Hazardous use of alcohol is a public health problem which accounts for 4.0% of global disease burden. The prevalence of alcohol use among drivers of commercial vehicles has been documented, but little is known about the social determinants and consequences of alcohol use among them. This study was therefore carried out to assess the pattern, social determinants, and consequences of alcohol use among drivers of commercialvehicles in Calabar, southern Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 360 commercial drivers. Eighteen out of 32 clusters of motor parks in Calabar were selected by simple ballot and all consenting drivers in the selected clusters were enrolled. An interviewer-administered, semi-structured questionnaire which included the World Health Organization alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT), was used to collect data. The prevalence of alcohol use was 84.4%. The largest contributor to the logistic model of alcohol use was concurrent use of other drugs. Features of dependence were exhibited by more than a third of participants. A multi-prong approach to alcohol control is recommended.