ALCOHOL EDUCATION IN LICENSED PREMISES USING BRIEF INTERVENTION STRATEGIES

Aims. The aim of this feasibility study is to present a description of a new approach based on alcohol brief intervention strategies to inte rvene with at-risk drinkers in licensed premises. Design. The data pre sented are from a convenience sample of tavern patrons. Setting. The i ntervention called Operation Drinksafe was conducted on 75 occasions i n 67 licensed premises in an Australian rural area. Participants. Ther e were 2761 voluntary participants who were provided with a personal r isk assessment of their alcohol we. Measurements. The main measurement s were the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) combined with a blood alcohol concentration (BAG) reading. Findings. The median AUDIT score was 11.0, with 53% scoring in the hazardous range and 25% in the harmful range. For binge drinking, almost two-thirds (62%) of males drank six or more drinks once a week or more compared to 29% of females. Median BAC was 0.03 mg/100ml with 11% of males above 0.10. Re gression analysis revealed that significant predictors of alcohol-rela ted injury were being aged less than 30 years, forgetting the previous night, having had another person express concern about your drinking, and binge drinking weekly or more. Conclusions. The program had high acceptance among licensees and their patrons. Patrons who are ready to change their at-risk drinking behaviour may benefit from this type of minimal intervention when presented in an interesting way in their dr inking environments.