Victorian Substance Use Research Forum February: Dr Megan Cook
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Victorian Substance Use Research Forum February: Dr Megan Cook
21 February @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
We are pleased to invite you to our first VSURF seminar for the year! Megan Cook (Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University) will be presenting her work on gender differences in alcohol research in February.
This will be a hybrid event hosted at La Trobe University’s City campus, followed by post-seminar drinks at a pub nearby so do try and join us in-person if you can.
Presenter: Megan Cook
Title: Differences in how men and women are studied in alcohol research
When: 21st February 2025 at 4pm, online and in-person
Location: Room 2.11, Level 2, La Trobe University City Campus, 360 Collins St, Melbourne 3000
Zoom: https://latrobe.zoom.us/j/86758796538
Abstract: Alcohol consumption is a heavily gendered activity, having long been associated with men. Historically, alcohol research focused on men’s drinking and most studies used men as the prototype for typical drinking behaviours. As of 1970, it was reported that only 28 published English-language studies specifically addressed women’s drinking. Alongside broader gender parity debates, research on alcohol and gender has developed considerably in the last few decades. This presentation will overview the findings of a systematic review which aimed to identify differences between studies of men and women’s alcohol consumption. We included single-gender peer-reviewed studies on alcohol consumption published between 1st January 2014 and 31st December 2023, and a total of 11,235 studies were identified, of which 1,267 studies were included in the review. Findings will be compared to Global Burden of Disease estimates to understand whether the gendered focus of studies were proportionate to the distribution of alcohol-related harms. Findings will be discussed in terms of how researchers’ choices around study foci can differentially shape public policy and clinical practice, with important implications for gender equity and treatment outcomes.
Bio: Dr Megan Cook (she/her) is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research at La Trobe University. While contributing to the broader policy work of the centre she has interest in parent’s alcohol consumption practices, gender, and alcohol’s role in climate change.
