Issues in evaluating responsible beverage serving programs.

With the recent growth of interest in responsible serving programs on the part of the State and local policymakers, the need for evaluation is greater than ever. Several conceptual and logistical obstacles remain in the way, including different approaches taken to change the drinking environment to reduce the risk of intoxication versus server training per se, limited resources, and measuring customer consumption accurately. Evaluations must be conducted differently depending upon approach and program goals. Experiences, data, and results from the San Diego Navy Server Project are used to illustrate some of the problems facing future research.