Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-qsmjn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T06:44:50.877Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A qualitative study of the perceived impact of a community mobilisation intervention to reduce alcohol consumption among amateur sportsmen

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2013

C. D. Darker ,
J.-H. Ivers ,
A. O'Farrell ,
R. Dolan ,
N. Eldin  and
S. P. A. Allwright
C. D. Darker*
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Trinity College Dublin, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, Tallaght Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland
J.-H. Ivers
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Trinity College Dublin, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, Tallaght Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland
A. O'Farrell
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Trinity College Dublin, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, Tallaght Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland Health Intelligence Unit, Health Service Executive (HSE), Dublin, Ireland
R. Dolan
Affiliation:
Health Service Executive, Health Promotion Department, Dublin North East, Ardee, Co. Louth, Ireland
N. Eldin
Affiliation:
Health Service Executive, Health Promotion Department, Dublin North East, Navan, Co. Meath, Ireland
S. P. A. Allwright
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Trinity College Dublin, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, Tallaght Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland
*
*Address for correspondence: C.D. Darker, Department of Public Health & Primary Care, Trinity College Centre for Health Sciences, Tallaght Hospital, Dublin 24, Ireland. (Email catherine.darker@tcd.ie)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Aim

The aim of this study was to examine the perceived impact of a community mobilisation intervention programme to reduce alcohol consumption among amateur sportsmen aged 16–34 years.

Method

A qualitative focus group format was used to identify potentially important themes or concepts relating to players’ and coaches’ experiences of the intervention. Six focus groups were conducted (five with four to seven players per focus group and one with six coaches) to elicit participants’ experiences of the intervention.

Results

Three major themes emerged from the analyses: patterns of alcohol consumption and associated factors; perceived impact of the intervention; and suggested changes to the community mobilisation intervention. Excessive binge drinking (i.e. the consumption of six or more standard drinks on any one occasion) was common among players. The perceived impact of the intervention programme among players was low; players and coaches believed that if future programmes were to succeed, a ‘bottom-up’ rather than a ‘top-down’ approach should be adopted.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that players perceived the community mobilisation programme to have had only limited success in changing attitudes or behaviour towards alcohol consumption in this amateur sports setting.

Keywords

Alcohol usecommunity mobilisation interventioncontent analysisGaelic Athletic Associationqualitativesports club
Type
Original Research
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , March 2013 , pp. 57 - 66
Copyright
Copyright © College of Psychiatrists of Ireland 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Babor, T, Caetano, R, Casswell, S, Edwards, G, Giesbrecht, N, Graham, K, Grube, J, Gruenewald, P, Hill, L, Holder, H, Homel, R, Osterberg, E, Rehm, J, Room, R, Rossow (2003). Alcohol : No Ordinary Commodity: Research and Public Policy. Oxford University Press: New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biddle, S, Markland, D, Gilbourne, D, Chatzisarantis, N, Sparkes, A (2001). Research methods in sport and exercise psychology: quantitative and qualitative issues. Journal of Sports Sciences 19, 777–809.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Botvin, GJ, Botvin, EM (1992). Adolescent tobacco, alcohol, and drug abuse: prevention strategies, empirical findings, and assessment issues. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics 13, 290–301.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Butler, S (2002). Alcohol, Drugs and Health Promotion in Modern Ireland. Institute of Public Administration: Dublin.Google Scholar
Department of Health and Children (2002). Strategic Task Force on Alcohol. Interim Report. Department of Health and Children: Dublin.Google Scholar
Department of Health and Children (2010). Report of the Working Group on Sports Sponsorship by the Alcohol Industry. Department of Health and Children: Dublin.Google Scholar
Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform (2003). Commission on Liquor Licensing Final Report. Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform: Dublin.Google Scholar
Diehl, K, Thiel, A, Zipfel, S, Mayer, J, Schneider, S (2012). Substance use among elite adolescent athletes: findings from the GOAL study. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports . Published online 9 May 2012. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0838.2012.01472.x.Google ScholarPubMed
Dietze, PM, Fitzgerald, JL, Jenkinson, RA (2008). Drinking by professional Australian Football League (AFL) players: prevalence and correlates of risk. Medical Journal of Australia 189, 479–483.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gmel, G, Kuendig, H, Daeppen, JB (2009). Sport and alcohol: an emergency department study in Switzerland. European Journal of Sport Science 9, 11–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) Taskforce (2004). A Report by The GAA Task Force Into Alcohol and Substance Abuse. GAA Alcohol & Substance Abuse Prevention Programme: Dublin.Google Scholar
Holder, HD (2002). Prevention of alcohol and drug abuse problems at the community level: what research tells us. Substance Use & Misuse 37, 901–921.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holder, HD, Gruenewald, PJ, Ponicki, WR, Treno, AJ, Grube, JW, Saltz, RF, Voas, RB, Reynolds, R, Davis, J, Sanchez, L, Gaumont, G, Roeper, P (2000). Effect of community-based interventions on high-risk drinking and alcohol-related injuries. JAMA 284, 2341–2347.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Katz, EC, Brown, BS, Schwartz, RP, O'Grady, KE, King, SD, Gandhi, D (2011). Transitioning opioid-dependent patients from detoxification to long-term treatment: efficacy of intensive role induction. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 117, 24–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Larkin, M, Watts, S, Clifton, E (2006). Giving voice and making sense in interpretative phenomenological analysis. Qualitative Research in Psychology 3, 102–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lunn, P, Layte, R, Watson, D (2008). The Irish Sports Monitor, First Annual Report, 2007. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI): Dublin.Google Scholar
Maughan, RJ (2006). Alcohol and football. Journal of Sports Science 24, 741–748.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mays, N, Pope, C (1995). Qualitative research: observational methods in health care settings. BMJ 311, 182–184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meyers, RJ, Miller, WR (2001). A Community Reinforcement Approach to Addiction Treatment. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge UK.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyers, RJ, Squires, DD (1999). The Community Reinforcement Approach: A Guideline Developed for the Behavioral Health Recovery Management Project. Department of Human Services’ Office of Alcoholism and Substance Use: Illinois.Google Scholar
Mongan, D, Reynolds, S, Fanagan, S, Long, J (2007). Health-Related Consequences of Problem Alcohol Use. HRB Overview Series 6. Health Research Board: Dublin.Google Scholar
O'Brien, K, Ali, A, Cotter, J, O'Shea, R, Stannard, S (2007). Hazardous drinking in New Zealand sportspeople: level of sporting participation and drinking motives. Alcohol 42, 376–382.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Brien, K, Kypri, K (2008). Alcohol industry sponsorship and hazardous drinking among sportspeople. Addition 103, 1961–1966.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Brien, KS, Kolt, GS, Martens, MP, Ruffman, T, Miller, PG, Lynott, D (2012). Alcohol-related aggression and antisocial behaviour in sportspeople/athletes. Journal of Science and Medicine Sport 15, 292–297.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Brien, KS, Kolt, GS, Webber, A, Hunter, JA (2010). Alcohol consumption in sport: the influence of sporting idols, friends and normative drinking practices. Drug Alcohol Review 29, 676–683.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Farrell, A, Allwright, SPA, Kenny, S, Eldin, N. A cluster randomised trial to evaluate a community mobilisation alcohol intervention programme in a sporting setting [in preparation].Google Scholar
O'Farrell, A, Allwright, S, Kenny, S, Roddy, G, Eldin, N (2010). Alcohol use among amateur sportsmen in Ireland. BMC Research Notes 3, 313 (18 November 2010) doi:10.1186/1756-0500-3-313.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Palmer, D, O'Reilly, G (2008). Young People, Alcohol and Drugs. Juvenile Mental Health Matters: Dublin.Google Scholar
Pate, RR, Heath, GW, Dowda, M, Trost, SG (1996). Associations between physical activity and other health behaviors in a representative sample of US adolescents. American Journal of Public Health 86, 1577–1581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pringle, A, Zwolinsky, S, Smith, A, Robertson, S, McKenna, J, White, A (2011). The pre-adoption demographic and health profiles of men participating in a programme of men's health delivered in English Premier League football clubs. Public Health 125, 411–416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saffer, H (1996). Studying the effects of alcohol advertising on consumption. Alcohol Health & Research World 20, 266–272.Google ScholarPubMed
Strategic Task Force on Alcohol (2004). Strategic Task Force on Alcohol – Second Report. Strategic Task Force on Alcohol: Cambridge UK.Google Scholar