Differences in licensee, police and public opinions regarding interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm associated with licensed premises

Objectives: To determine the level of support by licensees, police and the general public for interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm associated with licensed premises and to identify differences between the three groups.
Methods: Participants were 108 licensees of premises licensed to sell alcohol; 132 police officers; 200 members of the public. Questionnaires were administered either through work settings or by mail. Respondents' levels of agreement with interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm associated with licensed premises: responsible service of alcohol; security and crowd control; policing; patron transport; and linking of alcohol-related harm to licensed premises and communication.
Results: Police and members of the public were significantly more likely than licensees to agree with strategies under licensee control, such as subsidising patron transport and training staff to deal with intoxicated patrons. Police were more likely than licensees and members of the public to agree with strategies requiring community action and changes to liquor licensing laws. Licensees had significantly lower levels of agreement than the other groups about licensees' responsibility to reduce alcohol-related harm as a consequence of drinking at their premises.
Conclusions: While there was good agreement between police officers and members of the public about strategies for reducing alcohol-related harm at licensed premises, licensees held divergent views about strategies within their control. Licensees were less likely than police and members of the public to agree they were responsible for reducing alcohol-related harm resulting from drinking at their premises.     

Media advocacy for alcohol policy support: results from the New Zealand Community Action Project

Media advocacy has been described as the strategic use of massmedia for advancing a social or public policy initiative. Thispaper describes an attempt to use media advocacy to increasepublic awareness and support for public health policies on alcoholin a demonstration project. The New Zealand Community ActionProject (CAP) was an evaluated alcohol problem prevention programmewhich compared cities exposed to a mass media campaign with,and without, community organization, against reference cities.Media advocacy was an element in both a community organizationstrategy and in a print media advertising campaign. Major objectivesof CAP were to increase the level of support for alcohol policiesin the general population and to increase the amount of alcohol-relatedmaterial (excluding liquor industry promotion) in the localprint media. Evaluation of the media advocacy strategies are reported froman analysis of alcohol-related material in the local print media,from a general population survey conducted in the six cities,a complementary qualitative key informants interview study,and a street interview survey. The results indicated that inthe four cities where. mass media only or intrusive intervention(mass media and community organization) were employed, therewas increased newspaper coverage of alcohol-related materialon the focus areas of moderation and social policy. Resultsfrom the general population survey, the key informants interviewstudy and the street interview survey suggested a positive effectof the programme both in the media only, and in the intensiveintervention cities, compared with the reference cities.     

Collaboration in community action: a successful partnership between indigenous communities and researchers

New Zealand Maori, in common with the indigenous peoples ofmany countries, face considerable alcohol-related problems.Although a number of initiatives have been implemented to dealwith alcohol issues, these have often had limited involvementfrom Maori and consequently have been more effective for non-Maori.This paper examines a collaborative project between researchersat the Alcohol & Public Health Research Unit and two Maoriorganizations, Te Whanau o Waipareira Trust in West Aucklandand the Huakina Development Trust in South Auckland. The 3-yearproject evaluated two community action programmes which aimedto prevent alcohol-related traffic crashes amongst Maori. Theprogrammes were run by the Trusts and were able to integrateresearch-based knowledge with community knowledge, resultingin a richness of strategies and a level of success that wouldnot have been likely in an imposed project.     

Mobilizing for Change: A Case Study of a Campus and Community Coalition to Reduce High-Risk Drinking

Campus and community coalitions include a partnership between campus leaders and community stakeholders and can effectively address the environment that may promote high-risk drinking. Despite evidence suggesting that coalitions may be effective vehicles for producing sustainable changes in college drinking, few campuses work within such a structure. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a campus and community coalition to implement environmental changes and thereby reduce high-risk drinking and associated consequences. This study utilized a case study method to tell the story of a campus and community coalition (CCC) implemented on a large university campus in the Northeast. The study employed multiple methods including archival document review, review of campus and community level data (i.e. alcohol-related arrests and sanctions) and analysis of student level data. The case study discusses the strategies employed, the environmental changes that occurred and the impact these changes have had on student drinking and consequences. Since implementing the campus and community coalition, the campus has seen an increase in enforcement by campus and local police, changes in community by-laws, and significant reductions in student drinking and consequences. The data provide evidence that a comprehensive approach to reducing high-risk drinking can have an impact on the campus and community environment, which in turn impacts student drinking and associated consequences. The CCC utilized a strategic and comprehensive approach to substance abuse prevention, allowing all participants to have a shared understanding of the challenges and best practices. Implications for research and practice are also discussed.     

Can Communities Assess Support for Preventing Adolescent Alcohol and Other Drug Use? Reliability and Validity of a Community Assessment Inventory*

This study examines the reliability and validity of the Youth Support Inventory, a tool designed for community coalitions to assess the availability of local resources and supports that previous research indicates are important for preventing adolescent alcohol and other drug use. Citizen members in 17 community coalitions completed the inventory. In tests of validity, a higher score (i.e., more community support) was associated with less adolescent alcohol use. In tests of reliability, the inventory was reduced from 55 to 40 items (α= .71 ). Of the prevention strategies identified by the coalition, 94% addressed resources the local assessment indicated were not extensively available in the community.     

Using socio-economic differences in knowledge and attitudes to shape community alcohol programmes: experiences from the Kirseberg Project

Community-based public health projects have become increasinglyimportant as a tool for health promotion. This approach hasbeen considered appropriate also in addressing socio-economicdifferences in health, although little is known about socio-economicdifferences in perception of health as a community issue. Ouraim was to study socio-economic differences in awareness andknowledge about the Kirseberg Project and in attitudes towardsthe concept of health as a local community issue. The KirsebergProject was initiated in 1988. The primary prevention aims areto reduce alcohol consumption in the population in order todecrease the incidence of alcohol-related problems. Kirsebergis an area with 10000 inhabitants in the north-eastern partof the city of Malmö (population 230000), Sweden. A sampleof 400 people in the area between the ages of 20 and 75 yearsof age was randomised from the population register and interviewedby telephone. Of the sample, 73.3% responded. Of the respondents,65.2% were aware of the project and 38.6% had knowledge aboutit. Socio-economic differences were found both regarding knowledgeand attitudes. Individuals in the high socio-economic status(SES)-group were better informed about the project than thelow SES-group, more often associated the project with the promotionof the community spirit, tended to give more positive answersto the questions about important local health issues, demonstratedhigher adherence to the social environment issues and were moreinterested in local health promotion activities. Our conclusionis that the socio-economic knowledge differences which werefound in the Kirseberg Project should be seen as shortcomingsin the health educational campaign rather than as a first stepin a determined social process. The issue of how the explicitnotions and the hidden agenda of a health promotion campaigncorrespond with central attitudes and values in different populationgroups in the target community must be carefully investigated.     

Alcohol consumption and alcohol control policy: the case of the Netherlands.

In the last decades the Netherlands have experienced a strong increase in heavy drinking, alcohol-related morbidity and, to a lesser extent, alcohol-related mortality. Along with an increase in leisure time and income, it is possible that two more specific factors contributed to these developments in alcohol consumption, i.e. catching up with the drinking habits of neighbouring countries and a process of secularization. The strong increases mentioned have until recently not provoked any strong negative reactions, either from the public at large or from the government. Moreover, the Dutch government has no tradition in developing and implementing a restrictive alcohol policy. In two large-scale studies in Rotterdam and Limburg we have found that in the population at large, there are, with one exception, no strong sentiments in favor of or against concrete preventive measures. We argue that an effective prevention policy is necessary, which should at least contain the following elements: (1) a public health campaign to support the implementation of possible restrictive measures; (2) measures aimed at a stabilization or reduction of the per capita consumption; (3) specific preventive measures for high risk groups; and (4) a social and political structure which facilitates the formulation and implementation of a prevention policy.     

Community action on alcohol: experiences of the Lahti Project in Finland

The paper discusses an experimental community action programmeaimed at the prevention of alcohol-related harm. The projectsite is the city of Lahti in Finland. It includes work in developinglocal alcohol policy discussion, education and information,health care intervention for heavy drinkers, youth work andself-help for heavy drinkers and their family members. The programmeis a collaborative project between the World Health OrganizationRegional Office for Europe and the Finnish Foundation for AlcoholStudies. Its purpose is to obtain information about the feasibilityand possibilities of local prevention. For that reason, researchhas an important role in the project. The paper discusses theresearch tasks, approaches and methodologies, the process ofproblem definition, and benefits and weaknesses of the communityapproach. The goals and objects of the project are presented.     

Planning and implementing a community-based public health advocacy campaign: a transport case study from Australia

Facilitating community action is a key goal of health promotion. This paper describes a public health advocacy framework. It then presents a case study of its application for planning community action by a community alliance concerned about increased heavy traffic on roads through a small regional city in the South West region of Western Australia. The case study illustrates defining the public health problem, the solution and the target for action; and the implementation of a comprehensive range of strategies including a media advocacy strategy to attract public attention, to reframe media messages, and to provide a policy alternative to government and industry. The campaign was evaluated in terms of process and outcomes, and was successful in putting pressure on key stakeholders and achieving the alliance's two main goals. The case study demonstrates the value of a well-planned campaign and including public health advocacy in public health practice, as an important strategy to facilitate the creation of healthy environments through healthy public policy.     

NIMBY syndrome and public consultation policy: the implications of a discourse analysis of local responses to the establishment of a community mental health facility

The relocation of mental health services from an institutional to community base in different parts of the UK has witnessed incidents of public opposition in relation to the establishment of community mental health projects. It has been argued that this not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) syndrome is partly a result of the attitudes held by the public towards people with mental health problems. The present paper reports some findings from a study of community attitudes towards individuals with mental health problems in a Scottish community, and discusses their implications for the development of public consultation guidelines with respect to the establishment of community mental health facilities. Discourse analysis was used to explore people's views about individuals with mental health problems. The study examined the ways in which their views were expressed in letters to the local press, and in subsequent discussions and interviews, when arguing for or against a supported accommodation project in their neighbourhood. Participants formulated their arguments around a number of issues which they claimed were of public concern. One of these related to the way in which the project was set up. In particular, participants argued that it had been established without any prior consultation with local people and in circumstances of secrecy. The findings demonstrate that, while consultation is relatively unproblematically defined in terms of its function, the specific nature of consultation is more problematic. The implications of these findings for mental health policy and practice are considered in the light of current official guidelines on public consultation relating to the establishment of community mental health facilities. It is argued that existing guidelines fail to take account of the concerns of local people, and therefore, that any intervention based on such guidelines is likely to be ineffective. It is suggested that the findings of this study will be of interest to policy makers and practitioners seeking to devise future public consultation strategies.