# Epidemiology of Alcohol Problems: Alcohol-related Disparities

> **NIH NIH P50** · PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE · 2020 · $287,615

## Abstract

The COVID-19 (C-19) pandemic has drastically changed life in the US, starting in March 2020 with stay-at-home
orders for much of the population and mass closures of businesses, including on-premise alcohol outlets. To
date, off-premise alcohol sales have been maintained in most states, and delivery and to-go options temporarily
expanded. Alcohol sales in March 2020 were substantially higher than expected, indicating consumers increased
home alcohol stocks, and potentially consumption. By June 2020, bars and restaurants have re-opened in many
states with varying distancing restrictions, prompting concerns of virus spread through congregation. The focus
of this Center Project was originally on analyses of selected major causes of illness, injury, disability and death
where significant racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities are evident in the US and which are substantially
alcohol-related. The proposed revision Aims will focus on changes in drinking patterns, substance use and
mental health measures from before to during the COVID-19 restriction period, associations between drinking patterns
and COVID-19 risk behaviors and behavioral health care need, access and utilization with attention to racial/ethnic
and socioeconomic disparities. The 2019-2020 National Alcohol Survey (N14) completed fielding on April 20,
2020 with 80% of cases collected before March 2020 and included web survey respondents recruited through
address-based sampling (ABS; n=5,176) and telephone respondents recruited through random digit dialing
(RDD; n=1,323). We propose to re-survey 1,500 N14 ABS and RDD respondents with a follow-up instrument,
N14C, focused on drinking, substance use, and COVID-19 risk behaviors and attitudes in the COVID-19 period. This
longitudinal design allows us to build on the rich lifecourse data and pre-COVID-19 measures collected in N14,
integrating new questions on recent substance use behaviors and problems, physical and mental health, and COVID-19-related risk behaviors, attitudes and impacts, including job loss and financial insecurity. N14C questions on
alcohol and drug use and related problems will reference appropriate C-19 period timeframes, including during
stay-at-home orders (closed period) and during phased reopening (open period). Changes in alcohol and drug
use, co-use and problems will be assessed through comparisons with N14 responses. N14C questions will
include drinking motives and alcohol purchasing, as well as COVID-19 risk behaviors such as mask wearing, hand
washing and congregating in groups of non-household members. Updated geocoding information of area
characteristics and policies, such as bar closures and expanded delivery, will be utilized, allowing policy analyses
utilizing within-person, pre-post comparisons to assess impacts on alcohol use and problems. Measures of an
individual's pre-existing health conditions, including diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, will facilitate
analyses of factors expected to raise t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10199695
- **Project number:** 3P50AA005595-40S1
- **Recipient organization:** PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** William C. Kerr
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $287,615
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 1981-07-01 → 2021-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10199695

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10199695, Epidemiology of Alcohol Problems: Alcohol-related Disparities (3P50AA005595-40S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10199695. Licensed CC0.

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