Introduction and AimsFew studies of the implementation of alcohol brief interventions (ABI) have been conducted in community settings such as mental health, social work and criminal justice teams. This qualitative interview study sought to explore the impact of training on ABI delivery by staff from a variety of such teams.Design and MethodsFifteen semi-structured telephone interviews were carried out with trained practitioners and with managers to explore the use of, perceived need for and approaches to ABI delivery and recording with clients, and compatibility of ABIs with current practice. Interviews were analysed thematically using an inductive approach.ResultsVery few practitioners reported delivery of any ABIs following training primarily because they felt ABIs to be inappropriate for their clients. According to practitioners, this was either because they drank too much or too little to benefit. Practitioners reported a range of current activities relating to alcohol, and some felt that their knowledge and confidence were improved following training. One practitioner reported ABI delivery and was considered a training success, while expectations of ABIs did not fit with current practice including assessment procedures for the remainder.Discussion and ConclusionsIdentified barriers to ABI delivery included issues relating to individual practitioners, their teams, current practice and the ABI model. They are likely to be best addressed by strategic team- and setting-specific approaches to implementation, of which training is only one part. [Fitzgerald N, Molloy H, MacDonald F, McCambridge J. Alcohol brief interventions practice following training for multidisciplinary health and social care teams: A qualitative interview study. Drug Alcohol Rev 2015;34:185–93]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically understand a programme theory of the “transfer” of work in one social organisation and sector (an innovative and successful social enterprise community café, The Usual Place that seeks to enhance the employability of young people with additional support needs in “hospitality”) to another (Dumfries Theatre Royal, a regional theatre and registered charity, specifically the “Dumfries Arts Award Project” and more generally, “the arts”). Design/methodology/approach By means of gaining insight into the complexity of the transfer of innovative practices between two socially oriented organisations and theoretical insights into associated conducive contexts and optimal processes, the work used realist evaluation resources within a longitudinal ethnographic approach. Within this, a series of specific methods were deployed, including semi structured key stakeholder interviews, non-participant observation and “walking” and “paired” interviews with service users in each organisation. Findings The principle finding is that with attention being paid to the context and intervention processes associated with transfer processes and having sufficient capacity and strong partnership working, it is possible to take an innovative idea from one context, transfer it to another setting and have relatively immediate “success” in terms of achieving a degree of sustainability. The authors propose a provisional programme theory that illuminates this transfer. They were also able to show that, whilst working with the potentially conservative concept of “employability”; both organisations were able to maintain a progressive ethos associated with social innovation. Originality/value The work offers theoretical and methodological originality. The significance of “scaling up” social innovation is recognised as under-researched and under-theorised and the use of a realistic evaluation approach and the associated development of provisional programme theory address this.

There is a robust body of evidence supporting alcohol brief intervention (BI) in primary health-care settings, but fewer studies have explored delivery elsewhere. This qualitative evaluation followed up staff in one integrated health and social-care service in Scotland to find out if and how multidisciplinary training in alcohol BI impacted practice, and if and why BI had been delivered following the training. Nineteen semi-structured in-depth qualitative telephone interviews were carried out among 10 of the 89 practitioners who had attended the course as well as among managers and administrators from various teams (e.g., social work, elder care, and community mental health). Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically. All quotations were checked with interviewees. Participants felt that training had improved their knowledge and confidence around alcohol and were supportive of having a role in delivering BI, but very few had actually delivered any. Practitioners perceived that their clients did not need alcohol BI for a variety of reasons, including that they either drank too much or too little to merit one. Despite this, practitioners described giving advice on alcohol but failed to recognize these conversations as opportunities to deliver BIs. A range of other barriers to delivery emerged, including the view that specific screening, delivery techniques, and monitoring of BIs did not fit with their current practice and assessment procedures, which already included (sometimes unhelpful) questions or questionnaires on alcohol use. The barriers to delivery were at individual, team, and service levels and are likely to be best addressed by a strategic approach of which training is only one part. The findings also suggest the need to take a setting-specific approach to efforts to embed BI delivery into routine practice.