Women and gambling-related harm: a narrative literature review and implications for research, policy, and practice - PubMed (original) (raw)

Review

Simone McCarthy et al. Harm Reduct J. 2019.

Abstract

Background: While the prevalence of women's participation in gambling is steadily increasing, there is a well-recognised male bias in gambling research and policy. Few papers have sought to synthesise the literature relating to women and gambling-related harm and provide practical suggestions to guide future research, policy, and practice which take into account the specific nuances associated with women's gambling.

Methods: A narrative literature review was conducted to review the evidence base on women's gambling behaviours and experiences of harm. Drawing from strategies used effectively in other areas of public health, key elements for a gendered approach to harm prevention were identified and adapted into practical public health research, policy and practice strategies.

Results: Results indicated a lack of research that explores women's gambling. Few studies have examined the impact of gambling on the lives of women, with limited understanding of the factors that influence women's engagement with gambling products, and the impact of industry tactics. A gendered approach was identified as a strategy used successfully in other areas of public health to shift the focus onto women and to ensure they are considered in research. In tobacco control, increasing trends in women's smoking behaviour were combatted with targeted research, policy and practical initiatives. These key elements were adapted to create a conceptual framework for reducing and preventing gambling harm in women. The framework provides regulatory direction and a research agenda to minimise gambling-related harm for women both in Australia and internationally. Evidence-based policies should be implemented to focus on the influence of gender and associated factors to address gambling-related harm. Practical interventions must take into account how women conceptualise and respond to gambling risk in order to develop specific harm prevention programs which respond to their needs.

Conclusion: A gendered approach to gambling harm prevention shifts the focus onto the unique factors associated with women's gambling and specific ways to prevent harm. As seen in other areas of public health, such a framework enables harm measures, policies, and interventions to be developed that are salient to girls and women's lives, experiences and circumstances.

Keywords: Gambling; Gender; Harm; Problem gambling; Public health; Women.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate was not required for this work as it did not involve human participants.

Not applicable. No data from individual participants were used.

Competing interests

SM has received funding for gambling research in the last year from an Australian Government Research Training Program scholarship. ST has received funding in the last 3 years for gambling research from the Australian Research Council and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation is funded via hypothecated taxes from gambling. She has also received consultancy funding for gambling harm prevention education from the AFL Players Association and AFL Sportsready. She has received travel funding for conference presentations from the Living Room Cardiff, the European Union, and the Australian Capital Territory Gaming and Racing Commission. MB has received funding in the last 3 years for gambling research from the New Zealand Ministry of Health. RC has, in the past 3 years, received travel expenses from Edinburgh University and the Graduate School for Humanities, University of Cologne. She has also received travel expenses from government departments and from organisations which derive their funding from government departments (including through hypothecated taxes on gambling) including the University of Helsinki Centre for Research on Addiction, Control and Governance; the Alberta Gambling Research Institute; the New Zealand Ministry of Health; the New Zealand Problem Gambling Foundation and The Gambling and Addictions Research Centre at Auckland University of Technology. She has also received funding to organise and run a conference from the British Academy. She has paid to attend industry-sponsored events and attended free, industry-supported events in order to conduct anthropological fieldwork.

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Figures

Fig. 1

Fig. 1

Gendered approach to gambling harm prevention. This framework is designed for preventing and reducing harm from gambling among women and explores and outlines the need for gender diversity in gambling research. The framework provides comprehensive regulatory direction, strategies for practical initiatives and a research agenda to minimise gambling harm for women both in Australia and internationally

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