Are alcohol problems best solved by educating young people

1
Are alcohol problems best solved by educating
young people an implementation study

• Fredrik Spak, Per Blanck
• University of Gothenburg
• Mandurah West Australia, March 2004

2
National Action Plan for Alcohol and Drug
Prevention, areas that concern local
municipalities, 2001

• Support to risk groups and individuals with risk
  behaviours
• Treatment efforts
• Influence the public opinion
• Restricted accessibility to alcohol beverages
• Competence enhancement
• Monitoring trends

3
Method

• 49 municipalities
• 1.9 million inh.
• Range 475 000 5 000
• 61 lt 20 000

• Base-line interview
• Follow process
• 4 municipalities studied more closely
• Comming up
• Follow-up interview

4
Substance coordinators

• In 34 of 49 municipalities,else public health
  officer
• Tasks
• Monitor substance use
• Develop or enforce policy programs
• Promote preventive efforts
• Unclear expectations, low sustainability

5
Organization

• Broad co-operation, but
• Consultative
• Non-financial
• Health care and police not represented
• Minimal economical resources for activities

6
Policy programs

• 39 municipalities,
• But 27 of these outdated
• policy never accepted
• policy not known
• old

7
Information to teenage parents

• Lecture series
• Study circles
• few
• But
• lacks sustainability

8
Education

• Efforts in all municipalities
• wide variety
• usually grade 7-9
• Often a part of Health promoting schools
• undocumented
• No well documented program

9
Sales restrictions

• Controlling (low alcohol) beer sales
• regulation adherence 50
• Restuarant and bar license increase (per 10.000
  inh.)
• 1998 9.8
• 2003 12.4

10
Secondary prevention in health care/primary
health care

• New parents Yes
• Early secondary intervention No

11
Activities in the traffic area

• Swedish police active, activities increasing
• No community cooperation

12
Conclusions

• strong state support
• large freedom
• considerable efforts on many arenas
• broad solutions where co-operation is a key topic

• conflict between public health interests
  other pressures groups?
• lack of knowledge-competence
• co-operation non-financial
• resources shattered on too many fronts

13
Conclusions,further shortcomings

• Imbalance between expectations and results
• Few activity resources
• Health care hardly involved

• Responsible alcohol serving very large efforts
  are needed
• How to convince?
• Low sustainability