Evaluation of a community-based plan to reduce underage alcohol access through media messages

Based on longitudinal data, middle school and high school students in the Buffalo Trace district in Northeastern Kentucky have consistently reported it fairly to very easy to access alcohol. A clear majority (99%) of regional adults surveyed disapproved of providing alcohol to underage youth, indicating a favorable environment for addressing underage alcohol use. Based on these findings, the Buffalo Trace Agency for Substance Abuse Policy commissioned a plan to launch a well-planned and extensive media campaign to reduce underage access to alcohol. The first step was to conduct a needs assessment to further the understanding of the environment in which underage drinking takes place. Preliminary analysis of secondary data within the school and community domains indicated that although the majority of adults disapprove of underage alcohol use and are ready to address underage alcohol issues, student surveys showed that the places teens are using alcohol are in the community and at home. These findings indicate (1) a disconnect between where teens are using and adult perceptions of the problem and (2) a need to address social and commercial access. The results of the needs assessment will be used to develop baseline indicators and campaign messages. This paper will outline findings from the needs assessment, explain selection of baseline indicators used for development of media messages and program evaluation, describe the process used to gain stakeholder opinion about campaign messages, illustrate campaign messages, and describe the evaluation plan and results.