title: Effects of a community intervention to reduce the serving of alcohol to intoxicated patrons.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effects of an alcohol prevention programme to reduce the serving of alcoholic beverages to intoxicated clients on licensed premises.
  
  
  METHODS
  A controlled pre- (2004) and post-intervention study (2006) design.
  
  
  METHODS
  A community-based programme combining law enforcement, responsible beverage service training, information campaigns and policy initiatives in one Finnish town (Jyväskylä).
  
  
  METHODS
  A male actor pretended to be clearly under the influence of alcohol and tried to buy a pint of beer at licensed premises. For the baseline measurement, every bar and nightclub was visited in the intervention and the control areas (94 licensed premises in total). Post-intervention data were gathered with the same principles (100 licensed premises in total). A researcher observed every visit and documented the results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the post-intervention study there was a statistically significant increase in refusals to serve denials alcohol to the actor in the intervention area (from 23% to 42% of the licensed premises) compared to refusals in the control area (from 36% to 27% of the licensed premises).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Previous research has documented that multi-component community-based interventions can have a significant impact on over-serving of alcohol when training and house policies are combined with effective law enforcement. The present findings also demonstrate that comprehensive Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) interventions applied at a local community level can be effective in decreasing service to intoxicated clients in a Nordic context.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Department of Alcohol, Drugs and Addiction, Helsinki, Finland. katariina.warpenius@thl.fi
authors.forename: Katariina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Warpenius
authors.forename: Marja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Holmila
authors.forename: Heli
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mustonen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication; D003132:Commerce / Q000193:education / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D008004:Licensure; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011640:Public Policy; D014505:Urban Population; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control