Preventing alcohol-related harm among young women: development and feasibility testing of a community-based group intervention

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Binge drinking in social groups is common among young women. This study will develop a recruitment strategy and a gender and age sensitive group intervention to tackle binge drinking among women aged 18 - 34 years. If successful, the intervention will subsequently be tested in a full scale trial. The long term aim of the full study is to reduce the frequency of binge drinking among young women, many of whom are not aware that they drink at harmful levels.This community-based feasibility study will be conducted in two phases. Phase one involves designing and testing a community based recruitment strategy. It will recruit participants through existing community groups and networks; adverts on two local radio stations; and a poster campaign. A graphic designer will work with the team to create posters and leaflets to advertise the study. Phase one will also develop the novel group intervention. The intervention is based on current psychological theories of behaviour change. The components of the intervention will be woven into fun social activities. Lay people will be trained to deliver the intervention. Six focus groups with young women will be convened to assist in the development of the recruitment strategy and the intervention. The intervention has several innovative features that make it attractive to the target group. It is tailored for young women and capitalises on enhancing existing social networks and support systems that exist within social groups. The intervention augments the brief alcohol intervention, which is commonly used to reduce alcohol consumption. It uses the Health Action Process Approach which is designed to lead to behaviour change through three steps: promoting motivation to change; setting goals and implementing intentions to change; and devising coping plans and relapse prevention strategies. Thus the intervention will be delivered over three sessions. Fun group activities, which reinforce the three components of the intervention, will form the basis for the sessions: making alcohol free cocktails, a makeup demonstration and a relaxation class. Employing trained lay peers to deliver the intervention, will make the study more appealing to the participants. Motivation to change will be generated using motivational interviewing techniques. The women will be encouraged to make specific plans to change their behaviour and to think about ways to overcome barriers to change. Phase 2 uses a before and after study design to assess whether the components of the intervention are likely to reduce the frequency of binge drinking. Young women who regularly drink together will be invited to participate in the study in groups (three to eight people). In total 20 pre-existing social groups will be recruited. Groups with different characteristics will be recruited eg work colleagues; young mothers; students; and unemployed young women from areas of high deprivation. Women will be interviewed by telephone three months after the intervention. The study will use a range of measures to assess the acceptability of the study and its potential to be an effective strategy to reduce harmful drinking. The frequency of binge drinking (6 or more units of alcohol in a single session) in the previous 30 days will be measured at baseline and three months after the intervention. The study will also assess the impact of the study on perceptions of harms, the perceived benefits of moderated drinking; and beliefs in ability to reduce binge drinking. The extent to which the women made plans to reduce the frequency of binge drinking will be measured. The impact of the group support systems in influencing both individual and group drinking behaviour will also be assessed. As recruitment to community-based interventions is typically low, a market penetration survey of 300 young women exposed to the advertising campaign will also be conducted, to assess the impact of the advertising campaign.