Center Grant

Dissemination and Adoption of Science-Based Prevention
Component Director:  Kathryn Stewart, MS

Research has shown that alcohol problems are influenced by social and community environments.  Alcohol problems can be prevented by changing environments and how individuals obtain and consume alcohol in those environments.  For example, communities can change how alcohol is sold and served in bars, restaurants and retail stores.  They can enforce laws to prevent sales to minors or to intoxicated people.  They can establish and enforce zoning and licensing regulations that control the number and location of outlets that sell alcohol.  All of these actions can change individual drinking behaviors and alcohol related problems. 

The other components of the continuing Center Grant project, Environmental Approaches to Prevention are designed to increase understanding of how alcohol problems are influenced by community environments and to suggest better and more focused ways of preventing these problems.  The goal of the Dissemination component is to make this research accessible to all and to facilitate practical application of this research in community and policy settings.  Strategies for achieving this goal are being developed in four selected San Francisco area communities.

Changing alcohol policies and enforcement practices at the state and local level can be challenging and can require action by a variety of groups and individuals, including government leaders, advocacy organizations, concerned citizens, and law enforcement.  Different aspects of the community system need different types of information in order to do their part to create healthier alcohol environments.  The information content and mode of delivery must be tailored to fit each audience.  For example, information about the relationship between alcohol outlet density and impaired driving can benefit enforcement agencies, planning agencies, alcohol beverage control agencies, and concerned citizen groups – each of which needs different information delivered through different channels. 

This component is developing an innovative approach to the dissemination of research results with the aim of bringing about alcohol policy changes.  Elements of the component activities include:

• Identification of key community participants in each community, including representatives of local government, law enforcement, community groups, and alcohol control agencies. 
• Obtaining input from these representatives to aid in the development of information that is clear and useful to diverse groups as well as the identification of the best channels of communication to get this information to the people who can use it.
• Building relationships with these opinion leaders in order to increase the perceived relevance and credibility of research findings.
• Broadly disseminating findings from the other research components along with synthesis of research about how alcohol problems can be prevented through changes in community environments.

By utilizing a variety of communications channels along with careful translation of research findings into guidance tools for policy makers and implementers we expect to maximize the effectiveness of policy research to help build healthier community environments. 

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