Bergljot Baklien

Effect and Process Evaluation of a Norwegian Community Prevention Project Targeting Alcohol Use and Related Harm

Based on a combination of effect and process evaluation, we aimed to (a) assess whether a community prevention project succeeded in curbing alcohol use and related harm among adolescents and (b) explain the results of the effect evaluation. School surveys among adolescents (n = 20,000) and purchase trials (n = 162) were carried out in intervention and control communities before and after the intervention. Qualitative data from key actors and documents were collected throughout the 3-year project period. The effect evaluation revealed no impact of the intervention on the availability of alcohol, drinking, and alcohol-related harm. The process evaluation showed how and why the prevention project was delayed, that the preventive programs implemented were not likely to be effective, and why these programs were chosen. The latter was essential to explain the finding of the effect evaluation and illustrates the utility and necessity of mixed-method approaches when evaluating a complex intervention.

Effectiveness of Responsible Beverage Service: The Norwegian Experiences

This article summarizes the findings from three evaluation studies of the Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) program in Norway. Effect evaluations in these studies demonstrated no effectiveness in that the program failed to reach its objectives of reducing on-premise sales to intoxicated and to underaged patrons. Process evaluations found that the content of the Norwegian RBS program was limited and represented a “light” version and program implementation varied significantly. In one project the program was hardly implemented, in another project program participation was made a prerequisite for extended opening hours, whereby the coverage of the target group became very high. A significant challenge in this area would be to improve program content and ways of implementation.

“Girls will be served until you have to carry them out”: Gendered serving practices in Oslo

Abstract Research on heavy drinking among women implies that this behaviour is deviant and criticised by society, which would suggest that intoxicated women are more likely than men to be denied alcohol at drinking establishments. However, a recent Norwegian study shows that it is more likely for intoxicated women than intoxicated men to be served alcohol. This article explores gender differences and overserving within licensed establishments. The data consist of qualitative interviews with bartenders and pseudo-patrons. The latter were actors who were seemingly intoxicated while attempting to purchase alcohol at drinking establishments. Our analysis suggests that there are three main reasons why alcohol is served to intoxicated women. First, female patrons are profitable for drinking establishments because their presence causes male patrons to remain at the venue and spend more money. Second, female patrons are regarded as being sexually available to other patrons and staff in the barroom, which is a heavily sexually charged scene. Third, female patrons are considered harmless and their presence even dampens male aggression. In contrast to these explanations, there is some concern for the safety of intoxicated women. The night-time economy in Oslo seems to combine a strictly gendered perception of male and female patrons with a new acceptance of female binge drinking. The overserving of female patrons can be regarded as a consequence of the combination of these two seemingly contradictory tendencies.

Street-level alcohol policy: Assessing intoxication at drinking venues in Oslo

Aim: This article examines liquor inspectors’ assessment of intoxication at drinking establishments in Norway. It draws upon Lipskys theory of street-level bureaucrats (1980) to study a situation where laws and informal norms seem to pull in opposite directions. Methods: We conducted 26 ethnographic observations of liquor inspectors’ visits to drinking venues in Oslo, as well as qualitative interviews and field conversations with liquor inspectors. Findings: The study reveals that inspectors interpret the Norwegian Alcohol Act in four main ways that lead to lenient enforcement of the law. (1) Inspectors translate the wording of the Act into their everyday language. (2) They use significant discretion when assessing a patrons intoxication level. (3) The inspectors identify with patrons. (4) They find it hard to spot deviance when everyone is drunk. Conclusions: Research on alcohol policy usually focuses on the national level. Decisions made at the ‘street level’, however, might also lead to over-serving, alcohol-related harm and violence. The street-level alcohol policy allows a level of intoxication far above that allowed by the law. In this way, the inspectors support and maintain a liberal drinking culture.

Applying mixed methods in evaluation of a community prevention project: reflections on strengths and challenges

Aims In this study we report on experiences with applying mixed methods in an evaluation study and present reflections on strengths and challenges in this respect. What was done in order to integrate qualitative and quantitative methods? What were the main benefits? What kinds of difficulties were encountered. Methods The study is a case report based on the researchers’ own experiences from applying qualitative process evaluation and quantitative effect evaluation in a comprehensive evaluation of a complex community prevention project. Results Findings from qualitative methods were used to initiate further effect evaluation (sequential integration) and to support and explain findings from the effect evaluation (simultaneous integration). The main benefits were a more nuanced and comprehensive evaluation integrated into a common evaluation report. The integration of qualitative and quantitative methods presented a number of challenges, particularly in integrating the analyses and writing a common report, due to significant differences in research traditions. Conclusion The use of mixed methods in this evaluation study was very useful and necessary, particularly to explain the findings and to provide information for future prevention projects. However, essential differences between process evaluation and effect evaluation presented challenges.

Alcohol policy making at the local level: complex processes in multiple contexts

Several effective alcohol policy measures take place at the local level, yet little is known about local policy-making processes. In Norway, on-premise closing hours are much debated, and they were subject to a liberalization wave in 2004 and a restriction wave around 2008. This study addresses the processes that underlie the changes in closing hours. We use data from 24 Norwegian cities where such changes occurred. Data include newspaper articles, city council documents, and brief interviews with key informants. Changes in on-premise closing hours were generally small. The extensions occurred when the interests of the industry were countered by other interests and arguments but only to a limited extent. The restrictions around 2008 occurred when the police frequently expressed strong concerns about the problems of violence and nuisance and recommended restrictions. The findings suggest that local alcohol policy making is formed between opposing values and competing interests. Similarities in the complex processes underlying the policy changes were found across heterogeneous local contexts.

Use of research in local alcohol policy-making

Purpose – On-premise trading hours are generally decided at the local level. The purpose of this paper is to identify relevant advocacy coalitions and to assess to what extent and how these coalitions used research in the alcohol policy-making process concerning changes in on-premise trading hours in Norway. Design/methodology/approach – Theory-driven content analyses were conducted, applying data from city council documents (24 Norwegian cities) and Norwegian newspaper articles and broadcast interviews (n=138) in 2011-2012. Findings – Two advocacy coalitions with conflicting views and values were identified. Both coalitions used research quite extensively – in the public debate and in the formal decision-making process – but in different ways. The restrictive coalition, favouring restricted trading hours and emphasising public health/safety, included the police and temperance movements and embraced research demonstrating the beneficial health/safety effects of restricting trading hours. The liberal coali...