Abstract
Carnarvon, like most rural communities in WA, has a higher rate of alcohol consumption than in the metropolitan region, hence its selection as the target site. An additional reason for selecting a remote town was the belief that national and state level prevention strategies cannot always be successfully implemented due to a regions unique social and environmental influences.
The project used a community mobilisation framework to reduce drug-related harm associated with drinking in homes and private parties.
Activities attempted to assess alcoholrelated harms and to raise local awareness of the potential problems associated with alcohol consumption.
A combination of archival quantitative data and community based qualitative data will be used to assess the projects success.
The design provided a weak basis for inferring a causal relationship between the intervention and changes in alcohol-related harm. The descriptive process analysis provided useful data with which to plan better interventions, and suggested that the intervention was implemented with considerable success.
Intervention details
males in the age range 25-45 years
The Partysafe intervention comprised the following major component activities:
- Media advertising of prevention messages;
- Media advocacy of prevention generally and particular action strategies being undertaken in the community at the time;
- Publication of a weekly peer character cartoon strip highlighting alcohol issues and modelling behaviour change;
- Participation in a series of high profile community collaborative campaigns (The Christmas Collaborative Campaigns).
High rates of alcohol consumption and harm in the remote northern and eastern regions of Western Australia support the need for greater prevention efforts in these areas (Daly & Philp 1995; Holman et al. 1993; Midford et al. 1998; Unwin et al. 1997). However, metropolitan focussed national prevention campaigns may not be appropriate in such rural communities, as the social and environmental factors that influence drinking are quite different (Midford & McBride 1999). Furthermore, the prevention afforded by such campaigns may be quite small in individual communities. In addition, any prevention programme in rural areas needs to take into consideration the research that shows consumption predominantly occurs in private dwellings, rather than on licensed premises (Jeffrey & Milligan 2001; Midford et al. 1997; Boots & Midford 1995).
Evaluation details
Indicators used to assess the success of community mobilisation included an increase in local media coverage, the formation of action groups and coalitions, and survey data indicating an increase in community recognition and concern about alcohol-related harm. Program elements included training to promote responsible drinking in licensed premises and structural changes designed to lower risks.
The major impact of the Partysafe project in its own right was heightened awareness of alcohol issues in the community. However, the project also contributed in a major way to institutionalising a collaborative Christmas alcohol harm prevention campaign.
Use of local media content was particularly effective in raising community awareness as to the project message and obtaining support for its aims. Of particular interest was the effectiveness of local content in attracting community attention to the projects message of reducing alcohol-related harm.
Cooper, M., Midford, R., Jaeger, J. and Hall, C. (2001). Partysafe Evaluation Report. National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia.
