Societies in transition
Subtitle: alcohol misuse and control policy in Ukraine.
Published: 2005
Language: eng
Number of pages: 303
Description: This research examines the effects of alcohol misuse on health in post 1991 Ukraine, considering the four following questions: (1) How and why do Ukrainians drink? (2) How two events in Ukrainian history (Gorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign and the country's recent independence) impacted the use of alcohol as part of overall health status of Ukrainians? (3) What are the prospects for developing a comprehensive 'alcohol control policy' in Ukraine? (4) What can be learned from the Ukrainian experience to inform health policy and priorities?This qualitative study reports on twenty-six key informant interviews conducted using secondary reviews of empirical data from the NIS as a backdrop for reporting. A critical realist approach is adopted in terms of theory combined with the use of a classic holistic and descriptive case study where a country is taken as a case. The former approach is chosen primarily for its support of scientific progress, emphasis on context of research and naturalism. The Ukrainian experience is further contextualized by comparing it with two exemplary counter cases---Finland and Poland.With respect to findings, three subcomponents of drinking styles are isolated in the Ukrainian context---passive consumerism, the radical freedom to drink and drinking as a 'lifeforce' giver. These subcomponents of drinking style are tied to larger structural constraints in Ukraine, including corruption, lack of a rule of law, clan interests, existence of a strong black market, and more generally to concepts around rapid social change and transition. The negative impact of Gorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign on the current policy climate in Ukraine is explored and explained as is the negative impact of independence in 1991 on overall health.In terms of alcohol control policy, it is noted and concluded that an inhospitable climate for alcohol control reregulation exists in Ukraine at the time of data gathering, that a harm reduction approach might be an appropriate policy approach due primarily to its practical, non-authoritarian and non-criminalizing grass-roots driven nature, in contrast to the idealistic ambitious approach exemplified by Gorbachev's prohibition-based campaign and its authoritarian and impulsive implementation.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-10, Section: B, page: 5348.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2005.

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