News
HRiA to Presents Drinking Prevention Campaign at CDCP Conference
Part of the Serve Smart toolkit, a sign for consumers.
July 26, 2010
Public health campaigns addressing substance abuse have historically focused on users, asking them to "just say no." An analysis of the unsettled legacy of these efforts prompted HRiA to try something new when it developed an underage drinking prevention campaign: it focused instead on the retailers who control access to alcohol.
"After evaluating the initiatives to date, we realized that while underage drinkers come and go, the people who sell and serve the alcohol remain," said HRiA's Debra Noll, a health communication associate who led the project.
The resulting campaign, Serve Smart/Sell Smart, was presented at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media in August, in recognition of the novel approach to the problem.
Funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, the campaign adapted materials from the Cambridge Prevention Coalition to create a "toolkit" consisting of best practices for checking identification, a synopsis of current laws, stickers and signs.
The development of the materials was guided by research including interviews with leaders in compliance, enforcement, and retailer education in the state as well as discussions with retailers, all looking to find an effective way to prevent underage drinking. Once developed, the toolkit was tested on consumer audiences before distribution to retailers, including restaurants, bars and stores.
"A more innovative communication approach involves targeting the environment in which alcohol is sold rather than focusing on individual behavior and choices,” said Jodie Silverman, director of health communication at HRiA.
Consistent with the data-driven approach, the campaign has a second phase to evaluate the effectiveness of the approach.
"It makes sense to see if our initial impressions carry through," Noll noted.
Results from the evaluation will be available in the fall.
"After evaluating the initiatives to date, we realized that while underage drinkers come and go, the people who sell and serve the alcohol remain," said HRiA's Debra Noll, a health communication associate who led the project.
The resulting campaign, Serve Smart/Sell Smart, was presented at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media in August, in recognition of the novel approach to the problem.
Funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, the campaign adapted materials from the Cambridge Prevention Coalition to create a "toolkit" consisting of best practices for checking identification, a synopsis of current laws, stickers and signs.
The development of the materials was guided by research including interviews with leaders in compliance, enforcement, and retailer education in the state as well as discussions with retailers, all looking to find an effective way to prevent underage drinking. Once developed, the toolkit was tested on consumer audiences before distribution to retailers, including restaurants, bars and stores.
"A more innovative communication approach involves targeting the environment in which alcohol is sold rather than focusing on individual behavior and choices,” said Jodie Silverman, director of health communication at HRiA.
Consistent with the data-driven approach, the campaign has a second phase to evaluate the effectiveness of the approach.
"It makes sense to see if our initial impressions carry through," Noll noted.
Results from the evaluation will be available in the fall.
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