Why attempt to reduce alcohol harm?
Between 1992 and 2001 there were 10,369 deaths and 537,742 hospital episodes in NSW related to alcohol. Alcohol misuse costs NSW an estimated $7,500 million a year from lost labour and productivity, crime, health costs and road accidents. Alcohol is associated with a number of social costs such as accidents, injury, violence and crime. For example, approximately 23% of fatal motor vehicle accidents in NSW involve a driver with a blood alcohol concentration over 0.05%. Males and youth (15-24 years) are significantly over-represented in these figures, respectively constituting over 70% and 50% of the total. Recent initiatives such as the widely publicised NSW Alcohol Summit 2003, have highlighted the wide variety of harms from alcohol misuse and the need for action to reduce such harms.
Why rural communities?
The NSW Alcohol Summit recognised that alcohol misuse is often driven by cultural factors and different issues face rural, compared to metropolitan, NSW. This is reflected in the disproportionately high burden of alcohol-related harm in rural, as apposed to metropolitan locations. For example 8% of men in rural areas report consuming alcohol at a hazardous or harmful level compared to 5% in metropolitan areas; 82% of 14-19 yr olds in rural communities regularly consume alcohol compared to 71.5% in metropolitan areas; and 22% of rural road fatalities are alcohol-related compared to 14% for metropolitan areas.
What approach will be used?
The NSW Alcohol Summit recommended that attempts to reduce alcohol-related harm should engage the community at a local level. Consequently this project will use a Community Action approach to reduce harm. This is an approach in which a range of intervention strategies are systematically coordinated and implemented across a whole community. The strategy recognises that alcohol-related harm has multi-factorial causes and requires multiple interventions to reduce harm.
Which interventions will be used?
The interventions selected will be refined and shaped by each community, but will most likely involve:
· Community representatives;
· Community health;
· Police;
· General practitioners;
· Hospitals;
· Licensed premises;
· Local media;
· High Schools; and
· Workplaces.
How will evaluation occur?
The study will be evaluated using a randomised controlled trial design. Ten matched pairs of rural communities will be identified and then one community within each of the matched pairs will be randomly allocated to the experimental condition.
What outcomes will be measured?
The research team will measure the level of alcohol-related harm in communities before and after the implementation of the interventions assessed by:
· Alcohol-related presentations to Emergency Departments;
· Alcohol-related incidents requiring Ambulance attendance;
· Alcohol-related incidents and crimes identified by Police;
· Prevalence of alcohol-related problems in the community.
The project will also undertake a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether there is positive net social benefit (that is, whether the costs associated with the interventions are less than the benefits).
Which rural communities will be involved?
A total of 14 experimental towns were selected throughout NSW. Four of these will act as pilot communities while the other 10 will receive interventions aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm. Details of the experimental towns selected and their location in NSW can be seen in Appendix 1.
How were communities selected?
Communities were selected after carefully considering a range of characteristics, such as the total population, gender distribution, socio-economic indicators and the proportion of indigenous residents. Care was taken to ensure that the experimental and control communities were geographically separated, in order to reduce the likelihood of possible contamination of the intervention.
Who are members of the research team?
The research group consists of leaders in the drug and alcohol field drawn from the Universities of Newcastle, New South Wales, Flinders and Queensland. This multidisciplinary team has considerable experience in undertaking community based interventions and strategies to reduce alcohol-related harm. Members of the team are listed below:
Team Leaders
Professor Rob Sanson-Fisher and Dr Anthony P. Shakeshaft
Principal Investigators
Professor Richard P. Mattick
Director
National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre
University of NSW.
Professor Ann Roche
Director
National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction
Flinders University.
Associate Professor Chris Doran
Health Economist
Centre for Burden of Disease and Cost-Effectiveness
University of QLD
Associate Professor Catherine D’Este
Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of Newcastle.
Liaison Officer
Mr Nathan Hawkins
University of Newcastle
David Maddison Building
Cnr King and Watt Sts
Newcastle, NSW, 2300
Ph: 0249 236 479
Fax: 0249 236 779
E-mail: Nathan.Hawkins@studentmail.newcastle.edu.au | Associate Investigators
Professor Bob Batey
Faculty of Health
University of Newcastle
Associate Professor Kate Conigrave
Department of Drug and Alcohol Studies,
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Dr John Wiggers
Director
Hunter Centre for Health Advancement
University of Newcastle
Doctoral Candidates
Dennis Petrie
School of Population Health
University of Queensland
Courtney Breen
National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre
University of New South Wales
Research Staff
Alys Havard
National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre
University of New South Wales
Stephanie Love
National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre
University of New South Wales |
Current funding for the project
The Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AERF) have provided in excess of $2 million over a five-year period towards the cost of the project. This is the largest research grant ever provided by the foundation. This funding will meet project needs such as data collection and analysis and refinement of the interventions. The NSW Government has indicated its support for the initiative and will collaborate in further developing the interventions and evaluating the intervention’s effectiveness.
Ideas and materials for reducing harm in your community
This page contains materials that community members may wish to use to reduce alcohol-related harm in their community. Some of these tools were developed by community members themselves, while others were produced by AARC staff in consultation with community members.
Schools
This page contains materials that high schools, TAFE and other educational institutions may wish to use to reduce alcohol-related harm among youth in their community.
Letter to parents/guardians regarding alcohol at school functions. This letter states that students are prohibited from drinking alcohol, or being in possession of alcohol, at school functions. It requires that parents indicate that they are aware of these rules before their sons/daughters can purchase tickets to the school function.
This letter was kindly provided by Brother John Hilet of Forbes Red Bend Catholic College.
Letter to parents/guardians regarding after-parties and legal implications of providing alcohol. This letter provides advice to parents/guardians about their sons/daughters attending after-parties following school functions. It also alerts them to the legal and ethical implications of providing alcohol to minors. The letter requires parents/guardians to indicate that they are aware of these implications before their sons/daughters can purchase tickets to the school function.
This letter was kindly provided by Brother John Hilet of Forbes Red Bend Catholic College.
Workplaces
This page contains materials that employers may wish to use to reduce alcohol-related harm among their employees.
Letter to function venues regarding responsible service of alcohol at work-related events. Employers may wish to send this letter to licensed venues at which work functions are to be held. It states that the employer expects the licensed venue to comply with regulations regarding the responsible service of alcohol.
Workplace drug and alcohol policies. This document provides information on what a workplace drug and alcohol policy should aim to achieve, what it should include, how to develop one, and a sample policy statement.
Local Council/Community Organisations
This page contains materials that local Councils or community organisations may wish to use to reduce alcohol-related harm among members of their community.
Letter to employers regarding transport from work-related events. The Road Safety Officer, other Council employees, or members of community organisations may wish to send this letter to businesses in their community prior to the Christmas season. It encourages employers to consider holding their work-related events at venues that have transport available and/or to consider booking a bus/mini-bus/taxi to get their employees home.
This letter was kindly provided by Sandra Robinson, Road Safety Officer, Leeton, Narrandera & Murrumbidgee Shire Councils.