Public opinion and community-based prevention of alcohol-related harms

Holmila, Marja; Mustonen, Heli; Österberg, Esa; Raitasalo, Kirsimarja

doi:10.1080/16066350902770425

Cited by 37 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For alcohol, there was strong support for education interventions and for increasing penalties for drink-driving [20]. The majority of studies (17/21) suggested that there was little support for alcohol price-related policies and only a small number of studies (5/21) showed majority support for limits on the sale of alcohol products, such as limiting sale to drunken persons [38], limiting store hours [39], or limiting sale at corner stores [19,20,22]. However in some cases, there was support for specific pricing policies for example to increase alcohol taxes with the aim of reducing underage drinking [40], to deal with problems from alcohol use [41], or to lower taxes on low alcohol beverages [41].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public acceptability of government intervention to change health-related behaviours: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundGovernments can intervene to change health-related behaviours using various measures but are sensitive to public attitudes towards such interventions. This review describes public attitudes towards a range of policy interventions aimed at changing tobacco and alcohol use, diet, and physical activity, and the extent to which these attitudes vary with characteristics of (a) the targeted behaviour (b) the intervention and (c) the respondents.MethodsWe searched electronic databases and conducted a narrative synthesis of empirical studies that reported public attitudes in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand towards interventions relating to tobacco, alcohol, diet and physical activity. Two hundred studies met the inclusion criteria.ResultsOver half the studies (105/200, 53%) were conducted in North America, with the most common interventions relating to tobacco control (110/200, 55%), followed by alcohol (42/200, 21%), diet-related interventions (18/200, 9%), interventions targeting both diet and physical activity (18/200, 9%), and physical activity alone (3/200, 2%). Most studies used survey-based methods (160/200, 80%), and only ten used experimental designs.Acceptability varied as a function of: (a) the targeted behaviour, with more support observed for smoking-related interventions; (b) the type of intervention, with less intrusive interventions, those already implemented, and those targeting children and young people attracting most support; and (c) the characteristics of respondents, with support being highest in those not engaging in the targeted behaviour, and with women and older respondents being more likely to endorse more restrictive measures.ConclusionsPublic acceptability of government interventions to change behaviour is greatest for the least intrusive interventions, which are often the least effective, and for interventions targeting the behaviour of others, rather than the respondent him or herself. Experimental studies are needed to assess how the presentation of the problem and the benefits of intervention might increase acceptability for those interventions which are more effective but currently less acceptable.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public acceptability of government intervention to change health-related behaviours: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Within the survey, policies aimed at reducing harms and enforcing laws were strongly supported, while pricing policies and those restricting availability were less favoured, a common finding elsewhere (Diepeveen et al., 2013, Nelson et al., 2015, Room et al., 2005). Those who were most supportive of alcohol control policies were females, older people and those who drank less, which is consistent with many findings from Australia, North America, and western European countries (Giesbrecht et al., 2007, Holmila et al., 2009, Latimer et al., 2001, Wallin and Andreasson, 2005, Wilkinson et al., 2009). While some studies have found associations between socio-economic status and policy support, we found that associations varied depending on the socioeconomic measure used and identified stronger links for attitudes around drinking and government responsibility.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public attitudes towards alcohol control policies in Scotland and England: Results from a mixed-methods study

Lovatt

Eadie

et al. 2017

Social Science & Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The harmful effects of heavy drinking on health have been widely reported, yet public opinion on governmental responsibility for alcohol control remains divided. This study examines UK public attitudes towards alcohol policies, identifies underlying dimensions that inform these, and relationships with perceived effectiveness. A cross-sectional mixed methods study involving a telephone survey of 3477 adult drinkers aged 16–65 and sixteen focus groups with 89 adult drinkers in Scotland and England was conducted between September 2012 and February 2013. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to reduce twelve policy statements into underlying dimensions. These dimensions were used in linear regression models examining alcohol policy support by demographics, drinking behaviour and perceptions of UK drinking and government responsibility. Findings were supplemented with a thematic analysis of focus group transcripts. A majority of survey respondents supported all alcohol policies, although the level of support varied by type of policy. Greater enforcement of laws on under-age sales and more police patrolling the streets were strongly supported while support for pricing policies and restricting access to alcohol was more divided. PCA identified four main dimensions underlying support on policies: alcohol availability, provision of health information and treatment services, alcohol pricing, and greater law enforcement. Being female, older, a moderate drinker, and holding a belief that government should do more to reduce alcohol harms were associated with higher support on all policy dimensions. Focus group data revealed findings from the survey may have presented an overly positive level of support on all policies due to differences in perceived policy effectiveness. Perceived effectiveness can help inform underlying patterns of policy support and should be considered in conjunction with standard measures of support in future research on alcohol control policies.

show abstract

“…. (Doucet et al, 2007;Holmberg & Weibull, 2013;Holmila et al, 2009;Reitan, 2003;Saglie & Nordlund, 1993;Wilkinson et al, 2009).Personal substance use is associated with less positive attitudes to intrusive policy measures on that substance (Holmila et al, 2009;Matheson et al, 2013;Osypuk & AcevedoGarcia, 2010;Wilkinson et al, 2009;Østhus, 2005). For instance, support for legalization of different drugs was associated with having used the drug in question (Lancaster, Sutherland, & Ritter, 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Women and older individuals have relatively more positive attitudes to intrusive policy measures (Doucet, Velicer, & Laforge, 2007;Giesbrecht, Lalomiteanu, Anglin, & Adlaf, 2007;Greenfield, Ye, & Giesbrecht, 2007;Holmila, Mustonen, Österberg, & Raitasalo, 2009;Matheson et al, 2013;Saglie & Nordlund, 1993;Storvoll, Moan, & Rise, 2014;Wilkinson, Room, & Livingston, 2009). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%