 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Lindsey E. A. Fabian, MPH, Eileen Harwood, PhD, Darin Erickson, MA, and Alexander C. Wagenaar, PhD. Alcohol Epidemiology Program, University of Minnesota, 1300 S. 2nd St, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55454-1015, 612-626-9991, fabian@epi.umn.edu
Communities often use hotlines or “tip” lines to monitor illegal or undesirable activities; yet, we know little about their features or their effectiveness in changing community behavior. We implemented an alcohol hotline study to gain a better understanding of issues related to creating and maintaining a community-based hotline, and most importantly, its effect on reducing underage drinking and the provision of alcohol to minors. A community was chosen based on its readiness to implement a hotline. We will describe the year-long processes of designing and implementing an ‘optimal’ alcohol hotline in a test community. Data consist of: 1) results from a survey of existing alcohol hotlines across the U.S., 2) transcripts of pre- and post-intervention focus groups with high school and college students that discuss various aspects of their community’s drinking culture, and 3) responses to a post-intervention telephone survey of alcohol retailers. In addition, our data include notes from informal conversations with community organizers, educators, and law enforcement officials who were instrumental in establishing the hotline. The presentation will conclude with findings and recommendations for future assessments of alcohol hotlines as promising tools for changing community behavior regarding illegal alcohol issues. We will also address the feasibility of implementing hotlines in communities.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Community Participation, Intervention
Presenting author's disclosure statement: