(Press-News.org) Implementation of community-based interventions alone is unlikely to be effective for reducing most alcohol-related harms and risky alcohol consumption, according to a study by Australian researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine. Anthony Shakeshaft and colleagues from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW (University of New South Wales), report that alcohol-related crime, road-traffic crashes, and hospital inpatient admissions did not differ between communities that did and did not implement community-based interventions.
The researchers reached these conclusions by conducting a five year cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 20 communities in New South Wales. They quantified the effectiveness of 13 community-based interventions using routinely collected data on alcohol-related harms, and a survey of drinking habits and experiences of alcohol-related harm. Interventions included school and work-based education and training, media messaging on harms, screening and brief advice in general practice, pharmacies and hospital emergency departments, and targeting high risk individuals and high risk times.
After implementation of the interventions, the rates of alcohol-related crime, road-traffic crashes, hospital admissions, risky alcohol consumption, and problem drinking were not statistically significantly different between the 10 communities that implemented the interventions and the 10 control communities, although there may have been limited power to detect a difference and uptake for some of the interventions was not consistent across all communities. The researchers did observe that following the interventions, individuals in the intervention communities reported statistically significantly lower average weekly consumption of alcohol than those in the control communities (20% lower, equivalent to 1.9 fewer standard drinks per week per respondent) and alcohol-related verbal abuse. However, these findings must be interpreted cautiously because they are based on low survey response rates.
The authors say: "This RCT provides little evidence that community action significantly reduces risky alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms, other than potential reductions in self-reported average weekly consumption and experience of alcohol-related verbal abuse."
INFORMATION:
Funding: The project was funded by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, an independent charitable organisation. The Australian Government provides core funding to the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre through the Substance Misuse Prevention and Service Improvement Grants Fund. No funding bodies had any role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interests: CDE was one of the investigators for the project that was funded by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, an independent charitable organisation. The Australian Government provides core funding to the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre through the Substance Misuse Prevention and Service Improvement Grants Fund. The other authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Shakeshaft A, Doran C, Petrie D, Breen C, Havard A, et al. (2014) The Effectiveness of Community Action in Reducing Risky Alcohol Consumption and Harm: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial. PLoS Med 11(3): e1001617. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001617
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001617
Contact:
Anthony Shakeshaft
National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW
AUSTRALIA
+61 (0)2 9385 0333
a.shakeshaft@unsw.edu.au
Community action not enough to reduce problem drinking and related harms
2014-03-11
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Crowdsourced rain samples map Hurricane Sandy's evolution
2014-03-11
A unique method to collect rain water samples during Hurricane Sandy has revealed the storm's chemical "signature" with a new level of detail. The technique may also lead to weather model advances that will ultimately improve storm prediction, say researchers at the University of Utah whose study was published online today in PLOS ONE.
Hurricane Sandy, also known as Superstorm Sandy, was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, according to government sources. Damage estimates exceed $65 billion and nearly 300 people perished ...
Lignin breakthroughs serve as GPS for plant research
2014-03-11
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed the equivalent of GPS directions for future plant scientists to understand how plants adapt to the environment and to improve plants' productivity and biofuel potential.
Two articles published March 11 in The Plant Cell offer a step-by-step approach for studying plant traits, drawing on comprehensive, quantitative research on lignin formation in black cottonwood. Lignin, an important and complex polymer responsible for plant growth and development, provides mechanical strength and water transport that enables ...
Antibody could be used to target tumor-causing protein, study shows
2014-03-11
CINCINNATI—Cincinnati Cancer Center (CCC) and University of Cincinnati (UC) Cancer Institute researchers have found in a phase-1 study that patients with advanced melanoma and kidney cancer who were treated with a certain antibody that targets a tumor-enhancing protein was safe, which could lead to more treatment options for patients.
The study is published in the March 11 edition of PLOS ONE, a peer-reviewed, open access online publication.
Principal Investigator John Morris, MD, clinical co-leader of the Molecular Therapeutics and Diagnosis Program for the CCC, co-leader ...
Examining potential of clinical applications of whole-genome sequencing
2014-03-11
In an exploratory study involving 12 adults, the use of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was associated with incomplete coverage of inherited-disease genes, low reproducibility of detection of genetic variation with the highest potential clinical effects, and uncertainty about clinically reportable findings, although in certain cases WGS will identify genetic variants warranting early medical intervention, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA.
As technical barriers to human DNA sequencing decrease and costs approach $1,000, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is ...
Discrepancies between trial results reported on clinical trial registry and in journals
2014-03-11
During a one year period, among clinical trials published in high-impact journals that reported results on a public clinical trial registry (ClinicalTrials.gov), nearly all had at least 1 discrepancy in the study group, intervention, or results reported between the 2 sources, including discrepancies in the designated primary end points for the studies, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA.
The 2007 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Amendments Act expanded requirements for ClinicalTrials.gov, mandating results reporting within 12 months of trial completion ...
Study finds comparable outcomes for commonly used surgeries to treat vaginal prolapse
2014-03-11
For women undergoing surgery for vaginal prolapse and stress urinary incontinence, neither of 2 common repair procedures was superior to the other for functional or adverse event outcomes, and behavioral therapy with pelvic muscle training did not improve urinary symptoms or prolapse outcomes after surgery, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA.
Pelvic organ prolapse (protrusion) occurs when the uterus descends into the lower vagina or vaginal walls protrude beyond the vaginal opening, and can occur as a result of childbirth. Approximately 300,000 surgeries ...
Study examines development of peer review research in biomedicine
2014-03-11
An analysis of research on peer review finds that studies aimed at improving methods of peer review and reporting of biomedical research are underrepresented and lack dedicated funding, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA.
Mario Malicki, M.D., M.A., of the University of Split School of Medicine, Split, Croatia, and colleagues analyzed research presented at the International Congress on Peer Review and Biomedical Publication (PRC) since 1989. The first PRC was organized to "subject the editorial review process to some of the rigorous scrutiny that editors ...
Discontinuation of randomized clinical trials common
2014-03-11
Approximately 25 percent of about 1,000 randomized clinical trials initiated between 2000 and 2003 were discontinued, with the most common reason cited being poor recruitment of volunteers; and less than half of these trials reported the discontinuation to a research ethics committee, or were ever published, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA.
Conducting high-quality randomized clinical trials (RCTs) is challenging and resource-demanding. Trials are often not conducted as planned or are prematurely discontinued, which poses ethical concerns, particularly ...
Two surgeries for pelvic prolapse found similarly effective, safe
2014-03-11
Two surgical treatments for a form of pelvic hernia affecting women have similar rates of success and safety, scientists in a National Institutes of Health research network have found. A guided exercise therapy to strengthen pelvic muscles did not add to the benefits of either surgery.
The surgical procedures and exercise therapy are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse, an often uncomfortable and sometimes painful weakening of the pelvic organs that may affect women in the years after childbirth. Previous network research suggests that about 3 percent of U.S. women will ...
Incontinence and Prolapse procedures found to be comparable in women
2014-03-11
MAYWOOD – Two common procedures to treat pelvic organ prolapse without vaginal mesh are comparable in safety and efficacy, according to research published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers also found that behavioral and pelvic floor muscle therapy (BPMT) did not improve urinary incontinence or prolapse symptoms in affected women.
Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when the uterus and/or vaginal walls protrude outside of the body. Up to 73 percent of these women report other pelvic floor disorders such as incontinence. More ...