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Influencing business policy towards young people’s alcohol consumption

Summary of the impact

Widespread concern about the effects of excess alcohol consumption by young people has been the focus of extensive national debate. The drinks industry has paid growing attention to these issues; corporate social responsibility measures by both individual companies and industry bodies show evidence of a more sophisticated appreciation of how marketing can be used to address the problem. This is evident in publications of the major drinks companies and the continual updating of recommendations to industry by the Portman Group. Findings from research into young people, alcohol consumption and social identity research have informed public, policy and industry debates and have shaped control measures, in particular by highlighting the social versus individual responsibility issues around so-called binge drinking. Professor Isabelle Szmigin of Birmingham Business School, a lead researcher on this project, has subsequently been directly involved in enhancing corporate social responsibility activities within the alcohol industry through industry and policy wide debates such as a St. George's House consultation on alcohol and has been appointed as one of nine members of the Portman Group Independent Complaints Panel, which adjudicates on complaints made under the industry Code of Practice on the marketing of alcoholic products in the UK.

Submitting Institution

University of Birmingham

Unit of Assessment

Business and Management Studies

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

Influencing policy on alcohol marketing to young people

Summary of the impact

Almost one in four deaths of young people in England and Wales are attributable to alcohol (Hastings and Sheron, 2011). Critical marketing research by the Institute for Social Marketing at The Open University (ISM-Open) has informed policy by: establishing the link between the marketing practices of drinks manufacturers and young people's attitudes to and consumption of alcohol; providing the material for the seminal report Under the Influence commissioned and published by the BMA Board of Science; guiding the Health Select Committee and underpinning a Private Members Bill on the regulation of alcohol marketing to children.

This research in ISM-Open is a collaboration between the Open University Business School (OUBS) and Stirling University.

Submitting Institution

Open University

Unit of Assessment

Business and Management Studies

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services: Marketing
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Informing Policy and Practice to Reduce Excessive and Underage Drinking.

Summary of the impact

Excessive alcohol consumption in the UK is recognised to cause widespread health, social and economic problems. Researchers at Lancaster sought to investigate related aspects of the problem: consumer and retailer perspectives. Piacentini's research on student alcohol culture has influenced medical practitioners' understandings of alcohol consumption, informed Portman Group research, was cited in the Guardian and discussed on BBC Radio 4. Hopkinson's research on underage alcohol sales identified the need for a new collaborative, community based action model, subsequently realised through the formation of Community Alcohol Partnerships. A successful pilot scheme resulted in over £1m being invested by major retailers and a further 54 CAPs being set up across the UK. The research also contributed to the transition from `Challenge 21' to `Challenge 25' and to staff training DVD on alcohol sales for SPAR employees.

Submitting Institution

Lancaster University

Unit of Assessment

Business and Management Studies

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

Reducing harms from alcohol in children and young people

Summary of the impact

In 2007, consumption of alcohol by children and young people was made a priority in the Labour Government's National Alcohol Strategy, which acknowledged that whilst decreasing numbers of young people were drinking alcohol, those who were, consumed more alcohol more often. Given the association of high-risk behaviours with high-levels of alcohol consumption, this commitment was taken forward with the publication of the Youth Alcohol Action Plan in 2008.

This case study demonstrates the central role that the group's research has played in guiding and shaping coherent, evidence-based alcohol policy for children and young people, including the development of the first national guidance on alcohol consumption by children and young people in England.

Submitting Institution

Liverpool John Moores University

Unit of Assessment

Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

Media, alcohol advertising/promotion and the drinking habits of young people

Summary of the impact

This study demonstrates the impact of the Unit's research into the relationship between alcohol advertising/promotion, media representations of drinking, and the drinking habits of young people. Our research addressed the concerns of policy makers and health education bodies about the relationship between alcohol advertising/promotion and alcohol consumption habits of teenagers and young adults. Our findings mapped the extent of media alcohol/drinking representations and showed a change in advertising content and overall code-compliance following the introduction of a new code of practice in 2005. The research found no evidence of a relationship between the general reported exposure to alcohol advertising and levels of alcohol consumption among young people. The findings have informed on-going policy recommendations and initiatives regarding the regulation of alcohol advertising, promotion and consumption. Additionally they have informed the policies of government and other agencies, both nationally and internationally (UK, EU, Australia).

Submitting Institution

University of Leicester

Unit of Assessment

Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management 

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services: Marketing

Experimental evaluation of a national responsible drinking campaign leading to its suspension and recommendations for future campaign development.

Summary of the impact

This case study details an impact relating to health and welfare in which educational practices regarding the dissemination of responsible drinking messages has been influenced, and on public policy and services where this evidence has stimulated policy debate. Specifically, research led to (i) the withdrawal of the Drinkaware Trust's 5-year flagship campaign, Why let the good times go bad? (WLGTGB), and (ii) a recommendation from an independent review to a) involve academics in future campaign development and evaluation, and b) implement changes to the current campaign based on our findings.

Submitting Institution

London South Bank University

Unit of Assessment

Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Psychology and Cognitive Sciences: Psychology

Peer learning though dialogue: young people and alcohol

Summary of the impact

This case has generated a new model of communication practice to deal with sensitive issues and risk behaviours. A range of personal and policy community impacts were achieved through implementing peer-led dialogue workshops focused on young people's experiences and discussion around the issue of alcohol. This intervention programme provided evidence of self-realization, self-esteem and personal growth benefits among pupils in five secondary schools in Edinburgh. The programme had an impact on the thinking of the Scottish policy community in relation to public health communication approaches on the issue of young people and alcohol.

Submitting Institution

Queen Margaret University Edinburgh

Unit of Assessment

Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management 

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Sociology

Improving Responses to Alcohol and Drug Misuse in Social Work and Social Care

Summary of the impact

A high proportion of social work clients have alcohol or drug problems, ranging from 5% in some adults services to over 70% in children's services. Workers find this work challenging, and misuse is strongly associated with negative outcomes, including abuse and neglect. The Tilda Goldberg Centre (TGC) leads research on substance misuse in social work, that has had the effect of:

  • Identifying often hidden problems, through key studies on, for example, the extent of parental misuse in Children's Services and problem drinking in older people;
  • Improving effective practice, such as intensive family interventions and the use of Motivational Interviewing in Children's Services;
  • Influencing policy and practice debates, including studies of training that have changed the curriculum for social work education and for local authority training;
  • Developing capacity in quantitative expertise in social work research and education as a direct spin-off from our research on substance use and misuse.

Submitting Institution

University of Bedfordshire

Unit of Assessment

Social Work and Social Policy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

The impact of alcohol test purchasing by underage adolescents on the availability of alcohol to minors

Summary of the impact

In 1997 the Home Office commissioned a study of underage test purchasing of alcohol. The study, designed by researchers at Swansea University, led directly to legislation in England and Wales, and later in Scotland and Northern Ireland, permitting underage test purchasing of alcohol under official supervision. Subsequent legislation required local authorities to use test purchasing to control the supply of alcohol to children. The method is now used routinely by every UK police force and local authority trading standards department (and internationally), and sales of alcohol to minors have fallen by over 60%.

Submitting Institution

Swansea University

Unit of Assessment

Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services

Alcohol, culture and public policy

Summary of the impact

This case study refers to research on British drinking cultures and alcohol policy carried out by James Nicholls, Reader in Media and Social Policy, Department of Film and Media Production/HCI (2004-September 2012). In this role, Nicholl's research and his public engagement contributed to shaping the UoA's research reference frame of cultural behaviour, cultural practice and public policy (see Ref5). Following the publication of his book, The Politics of Alcohol (2009) Nicholls developed as a specialist advisor involved in the analysis and planning of alcohol policy at national and regional levels. His work and influence has been cited in key policy documents (including the House of Commons Health Select Committee Report, Alcohol: First Report of Session 2009-10 HC151-1) in 2010. This work has subsequently helped to shape regional and national alcohol policy in both England and Scotland. This case study provides evidence of this impact in regard to the following areas:

  • Influence on alcohol policy at a national level, particularly regarding the role of historical perspectives in the development of policy.
  • Impact on alcohol policy at a regional level through knowledge transfer activities.

Submitting Institution

Bath Spa University

Unit of Assessment

Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management 

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration

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