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Field
Abstract
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Before
Background:
Alcohol is consumed by 79% of people (aged 16+) in the United Kingdom (UK), many of whom are drinking in excess of the recommended guidelines. Alcohol consumption can impair long-term health, lead to intentional and non-intentional harm to the self and others, and incurs a large financial burden on society. As yet, no single intervention has proved effective in reducing alcohol consumption across the entire alcohol-consuming population.
Design/Methods:
A multi-centre, double-blind, randomised, controlled, cross-over trial, to assess the effect of alcohol strength on consumption. The trial will be based within licensed premises in the South East of England. Participants (n=67) will be randomised to the order they receive the intervention product (3.5% lager or 9.5% white wine) and the control product (4.8% lager or 13% white wine). They will consume their specified alcohol products ad libitum during two study sessions within a normally functioning licensed premises. The primary outcome measure is mean difference in UK units of alcohol consumed in the reduced-strength alcohol condition compared with the regular-strength alcohol condition. Participants’ experiences of consuming reduced-strength alcohol will be explored by administering a questionnaire at the end of the study sessions. The questionnaire will also ascertain whether participants were aware of the strength of the alcohol they were consuming, and whether this differed between conditions.
Discussion:
Study results will seek to inform academics of the feasibility of the study protocol in practice and supply data with which to calculate accurate sample sizes for future larger-scale studies. The study results may inform policy makers about whether reducing the strength of alcohol is an effective intervention to reduce alcohol consumption within licensed premises.
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After
Background:
Alcohol is consumed by 79% of people (aged 16+) in the United Kingdom (UK), many of whom are drinking in excess of the recommended guidelines. Alcohol consumption can impair long-term health, lead to intentional and non-intentional harm to the self and others, and incurs a large financial burden on society. As yet, no single intervention has proved effective in reducing alcohol consumption across the entire alcohol-consuming population.
Design/Methods:
A multi-centre, double-blind, randomised, controlled, cross-over trial, to assess the effect of alcohol strength on consumption. The trial will be based within licensed premises in the South East of England. Participants (n=67) will be randomised to the order they receive the intervention product (3.5% lager or 9.5% white wine) and the control product (4.8% lager or 13% white wine). They will consume their specified alcohol products ad libitum during two study sessions within a normally functioning licensed premises. The primary outcome measure is mean difference in UK units of alcohol consumed in the reduced-strength alcohol condition compared with the regular-strength alcohol condition. Participants’ experiences of consuming reduced-strength alcohol will be explored by administering a questionnaire at the end of the study sessions. The questionnaire will also ascertain whether participants were aware of the strength of the alcohol they were consuming, and whether this differed between conditions.
Discussion:
Study results will seek to inform academics of the feasibility of the study protocol in practice and supply data with which to calculate accurate sample sizes for future larger-scale studies. The study results may inform policy makers about whether reducing the strength of alcohol is an effective intervention to reduce alcohol consumption within licensed premises.
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