title: Results of a cluster randomised controlled trial to reduce risky use of alcohol, alcohol-related HIV risks and improve help-seeking behaviour among safety and security employees in the Western Cape, South Africa.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the effectiveness of a programme aimed at reducing the risky use of alcohol and alcohol-related HIV risk and increase help-seeking behaviour among a sample of municipal employees in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
  
  
  METHODS
  A clustered randomised controlled trial was conducted in 2011-2012 among 325 employees. The eight hour intervention, Team Awareness (TA), addressing behavioural risk among employees was administered to 168 employees in the intervention arm and the 157 employees in the control arm who received a one-hour wellness talk.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results show that TA had the greatest impact on risky drinking practices and hangover effects. There was a significant group × time interaction (F (1, 117) = 25.16, p<0.0001) with participants in the intervention condition reducing number of days on which they engaged in binge drinking. There was also a significant time effect with participants in the intervention condition reducing the likelihood of going to work with a hangover (F (1,117) = 4.10, p=0.045). No reduction in HIV-related risk behaviours were found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This intervention study was able to demonstrate a modest but significant reduction in risky drinking practices and hangover effects. This provides encouraging evidence for the effectiveness of interventions that address risky use of alcohol among employed persons, further providing a launch pad for strengthening and replicating future RCT studies on workplace prevention, especially in developing country settings.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Pan-African Control Trial Registry (201301000458308) .
authors.affiliation: Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, P.O. Box 19070, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa. nadine.harker.burnhams@mrc.ac.za.|School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Falmouth Building, Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. nadine.harker.burnhams@mrc.ac.za.
authors.forename: Nadine Harker
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Burnhams
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Falmouth Building, Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. leslie.london@uct.ac.za.
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: London
authors.affiliation: Biostatistics Unit, South African Medical Research Council, P.O. Box 19070, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa. ria.laubscher@mrc.ac.za.
authors.forename: Ria
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Laubscher
authors.affiliation: Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, P.O. Box 19070, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa. elmarie.nel@mrc.ac.za.
authors.forename: Elmarie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nel
authors.affiliation: Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, P.O. Box 19070, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa. Charles.parry@mrc.ac.za.|Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, P.O. Box 19063, Cape Town, Tygerberg, South. Charles.parry@mrc.ac.za.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Parry
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009786:Occupational Health Services; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief; D012309:Risk-Taking; D013019:South Africa; D055815:Young Adult