| Description | Scottish Alcohol Research Framework |
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| ISBN | (Web Only) |
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| Official Print Publication Date | September 2010 |
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| Website Publication Date | September 08, 2010 |
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Scottish Alcohol Research Framework
This document is also available in PDF
Introduction
The Policy Context
Reduced Alcohol Consumption
Supporting Families and Communities
Positive Public Attitudes, Positive Choices
Improved Support and Treatment
Harm-Related Studies and Health Inequalities
Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland's Alcohol Strategy (MEASAS)
Additional Gaps
Introduction
The Scottish Government is committed to developing policy interventions which are informed by a strong evidence base. There is a considerable and growing body of UK and international research on the extent and nature of alcohol problems and the effectiveness of interventions. The Alcohol Evidence Group (AEG) was established in 2006 to oversee the development of a co-ordinated alcohol evidence base in which existing research (from Scotland, the rest of the UK and internationally) was consolidated and gaps identified. The group's remit includes helping to ensure that the development, implementation and evaluation of government policy on alcohol-related health, criminal justice and wider social issues is supported by research by agreed parties.
The Scottish Alcohol Research Framework, first published in August 2007, was compiled by NHS Health Scotland and the Scottish Government and informed by a scoping of the research literature carried out by NHS Health Scotland in 2006-7 with further advice from the AEG. The framework sets out existing (or recently completed) and planned work by key partners, together with priority areas for new research should budgets allow. It identifies research to directly support policy development and the evaluation of current initiatives. The framework is regularly updated to reflect progress on existing projects and to highlight new areas of research.
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The policy context
A number of recent policy and structural developments have significantly altered the context under which the Alcohol Evidence Group operates. The evolving policy context needs to be considered when reviewing the projects included in this research framework.
Framework for Action
The Scottish Government's Framework for Action was published in March 2009 following a public consultation on the proposals included in Changing Scotland's Relationship with Alcohol. It recognises an effective alcohol policy is one that encompasses a range of interventions delivered via a comprehensive strategy aimed at the whole population with particular targeting for high-risk groups. The Framework for Action therefore set out the need for sustained action in four broad areas:
- Reduced alcohol consumption;
- Supporting families and communities;
- Positive public attitudes, positive choices;
- Improved support and treatment
The specific measures in the Framework for are considered alongside current and future research priorities below.
Monitoring and Evaluation Studies
The Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group for Alcohol (MERGA) was established in June 2008 to oversee the development of a portfolio of monitoring and evaluation studies to measure the extent to which the actions set out in the Framework for Action, Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 and relevant actions that come from the Alcohol, Etc. (Scotland) Bill are effective in delivering intended outcomes and to track implementation progress. Going forward, Health Scotland is overseeing the portfolio (under the banner of Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland's Alcohol Strategy, or MESAS), with the Alcohol Evidence Group providing strategic oversight. Further details are provided in section 6.
Outcomes Focus
The environment in which local partnerships tackling alcohol and drugs misuse operate is evolving. A National Performance Framework has been introduced, identifying national outcomes which the Scottish Government wants to achieve over the next 10 years. Single Outcome Agreements (SOAs) between local and national government have been agreed, giving local government the freedom to identify their own priorities and allocate funding to these. From 2009, SOAs have been more explicitly negotiated and agreed with Community Planning Partnerships. These will better reflect local needs, circumstances and priorities to be delivered in partnership.
Reform of Local Delivery Arrangements
The Delivery Reform Group made a number of proposals concerning partners' roles and responsibilities, accountability arrangements, and partnership structures, including a recommendation that Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships (ADPs) should be embedded within community planning partnership arrangements. The Group developed an outcomes toolkit to support local partnerships in working in an outcomes based environment and recommended the provision of improved national support to local areas. ADPs came into formal existence in October 2009, with National Support Coordinators having been appointed by the Scottish Government to support the work of the partnerships. There is a clear need for reliable evidence to help assist the work of the coordinators.
Health Inequalities
Equally Well: report of the ministerial taskforce on health inequalities firmly highlighted the need to tackle health inequalities (including alcohol-related inequalities) in Scotland through coordinated action from national and local government and other agencies. The report set a range of actions and recommendations aimed at addressing the underlying causes of health inequalities. In terms of alcohol, the taskforce report emphasised the need to ensure that there is appropriate (and where necessary enhanced) access to information and services in order to tackle inequalities. In addition, it stressed targeted interventions for particular groups (e.g. offenders and dependent drinkers) will be necessary together with measures affecting the whole population. A number of projects within the framework have either a direct or indirect focus on equality groups, while the monitoring and evaluation studies will consider any differential outcomes or intended consequences different sections of the population.
1. Reduced alcohol consumption
Scotland is drinking too much. Industry sales data shows that enough alcohol was sold every year in Scotland since 2005 to enable every man and woman over 16 to exceed the sensible male weekly guideline (21 units) in each and every week. Excessive consumption is driving Scotland's worrying levels of alcohol-related harm. Action is therefore needed to reduce consumption by making alcohol less easily accessible and, through controlling its promotion by retailers. The long-term aim is to change Scotland's drinking culture. Key policy actions being taken forward include:
- restrictions on supply of alcoholic drinks free of charge or at a reduced price in off-sales premises;
- restriction on the location of drinks promotions within off-sales premises;
- the introduction of a minimum price per unit of alcohol.
There is therefore a need for evidence on the level of alcohol consumption within the Scottish population (including sub groups), trends in consumption, and monitoring of patterns and location of drinking. We also need to better understand the strengths and limitation of survey and alcohol sales data as measures of consumption. It will be the role of MESAS study portfolio (see section 6) to monitor and evaluate the impact of specific actions on consumption.
Current projects / recently completed studies
| Focus | Purpose | Method | Who by | Start date / status | Funding |
Recently completed studies | | | | |
1.1 | Limitations of survey data | To improve understanding of limitations of survey data on alcohol consumption. | Review of surveys and expert working group | Health Scotland | Published May 2008 | Health Scotland |
1.2 | Longitudinal data needs | To identify longitudinal data on alcohol available across the UK and to identify gaps in Scottish data. | Scoping of longitudinal data sources in the UK | Scottish Government | Three month PhD placement. Reports completed | Scottish Government |
1.3 | Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) and recent immigrant groups | To understand patterns of alcohol consumption in BME groups and recent immigrant groups. | Scoping of available Scottish data and data analysis | ISD (Substance Misuse Programme) | Published March 2009 | ISD |
1.4 | Minimum price modelling | To model the potential impact on consumption and harm of different minimum pricing thresholds and a ban on discounting in off-sales. | Statistical and econometric modelling | School of Health and Related Research, Sheffield University | Report published September 2009 | Scottish Government |
1.5 | Minimum price modelling: Update | To update previous estimates of the potential impact of minimum pricing and a ban on discounting in off-sales on consumption and harm using recently available consumption and crime data. | Statistical and econometric modelling | School of Health and Related Research, Sheffield University | Published April 2010 | Scottish Government |
On-going studies | | | | |
1.6 | Pregnant women | To determine patterns of alcohol consumption in pregnancy amongst women in Scotland. To explore the understanding of the risks from consuming alcohol amongst women. To identify effective interventions to reduce alcohol consumption before pregnancy, during pregnancy and post pregnancy. | Systematic literature review. Analysis of epidemiological and survey data. Interviews with target groups | PhD Studentship (Liverpool University) | 2007 Review of literature complete; fieldwork on-going | Scottish Government / Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) |
1.7 | Infants and young children | Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) study - longitudinal study of two age cohorts: 5,000 babies aged 10 months; and 3,000 toddlers aged 34 months). To generate a better understanding of the impact of maternal alcohol consumption on infants and young children. | Secondary analysis of data | Scottish Centre for Social Research & Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, University of Edinburgh | 2005 Sweep 3 findings published 2009 Survey on-going | Scottish Government |
1.8 | Alcohol consumption and drinking patterns | Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) 2008-2011. To monitor and better understand alcohol consumption and drinking patterns in Scotland (including amongst population sub-groups). | National household survey | Scottish Centre for Social Research | First annual report published September 2009; survey on-going | Scottish Government |
1.9 | Alcohol consumption among young people | Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) - biennial survey of young people in Scotland. To monitor national trends in alcohol consumption and drinking patterns among 13 and 15 year olds. | National survey of young people | Ipsos MORI; managed by ISD | SALSUS 2008 published June 2009. SALSUS 2010 in field in autumn 2010 | Scottish Government |
1.10 | Alcohol sales data | To collate and analyse data on alcohol sales at Scotland and England / Wales level from industry & trade sources (also see study 6.4). | Purchase of industry sales data | Health Scotland | On-going; analysis of sales data 2005-9 published January 2010 | Scottish Government |
1.11 | Alcohol purchasing patterns and location of consumption | To determine and monitor the proportion of alcohol consumed at home and on licensed premises (also see study 6.4). Further research required to determine patterns and location of consumption in different population sub-groups. | Purchase of industry sales data | Scottish Government | On-going; analysis of sales data | Scottish Government |
To commence | | | | |
1.12 | Validity of alcohol sales data | Review of the validity of alcohol sales and HMRC data to assess potential sources of under / over estimation Part of the MESAS portfolio | Review of data and methodology | Externally commissioned | To be commissioned late 2010 | Health Scotland |
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2. Supporting families and communities
The need for action to tackle the damaging impact that alcohol misuse has on families and communities across Scotland is clear. Alcohol misuse harms not only the excessive drinker but those around that drinker. Key actions set out in the Framework for Action include:
- Review current advice for parents and carers, in the context of the early years framework;
- A Youth Commission on Alcohol and Young People to enable young people themselves to explore the relationship between young people and alcohol (the Commission has now reported);
- Place a duty on boards to consider raising the minimum age for off-sales purchases within their area, or part of their area, to 21 when they are reviewing their licensing policy statements;
- Undertake research on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) / Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
A number of studies identifying ways of supporting families and communities, including building the evidence base around what works, are either underway or have recently been completed.
Current projects / recently completed studies
| Focus | Purpose | Method | Who by | Start date / status | Funding |
Recently completed studies | | | | |
2.1 | Community-based programmes - Focus on Alcohol Angus | To assist Angus Community Planning Partnership develop an integrated outcome focused plan for alcohol. To evaluate the model of approach developed by Focus on Alcohol Angus (FoAA). To assess whether the model is transferable to other local areas in Scotland. | Consultancy support and process evaluation | Craigforth Consulting | Published March 2009 | Health Scotland and Scottish Government |
2.2 | Working people | To audit workplace policies in Scotland against best practice. To develop comprehensive and flexible workplace policy. | Review of workplace policies; development of new guidance | Scottish Government Alcohol Industry Partnership | Workplace policy developed; workshop available to employers | Scottish Government Alcohol Industry Partnership |
On-going studies | | | | |
2.3 | Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) | To develop a strategic approach to addressing FAS / FASD in Scotland | Mixed methods approach | Scottish Government | Scoping work completed; next steps being considered | Scottish Government |
2.4 | Community based programme - Fife geographical pilot | To design and implement a series of interventions within a geographically focused pilot area; to evaluate key aspects of the pilot. | Action research and evaluation | Scottish Government Alcohol Industry Partnership; Fife partners. Commissioned work by Research for Real | Evaluator appointed Spring 2009; pilot and evaluation on-going | Various funding streams |
2.5 | Children of problem drinkers | To develop new and more detailed estimates of the number of children potentially affected by parental substance misuse using Scottish Health Survey 2008 and 2009 data. To assess the possibility of collating local prevalence figures based on child records held by local authorities. | Statistical modelling; review of data sources | Scottish Government | CAPSM Project Board overseeing work; SHeS analyses underway | In-house |
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3. Positive public attitudes, positive choices;
Many Scots are now exceeding sensible drinking guidelines and are largely unaware of the harm this may cause. There is a need to foster change in public attitudes by supporting and encouraging more responsible drinking. This will require increased awareness and understanding in order to empower and enable individuals to make more positive choices about the role of alcohol in their lives. Key policy actions include:
- Continue to work with health and industry partners to promote awareness and understanding of alcohol misuse and responsible drinking, including joint initiatives such as Alcohol Awareness Week;
- Restrict the display of marketing material in off-sales to alcohol display areas;
- Continue to work with partners to develop and promote the development of workplace alcohol policies.
Research in this area therefore needs to explore cultural attitudes to drinking within the population (including population and consumption sub groups). This should include looking at what influences consumption. It will be the role of MESAS to monitor changes in unit awareness and attitudes more generally.
Current projects / recently completed studies
| Focus | Purpose | Method | Who by | Start date / status | Funding |
Recently completed studies | | | | |
3.1 | Drinking cultures | To describe drinking cultures in Scotland. To inform the development of mass media communication and other alcohol interventions. | A rapid review of drinking cultures in Scotland, UK and 6 other countries. Qualitative study of drinking cultures in selected Scottish communities. | Susan MacAskill, Institute for Social Marketing, University of Stirling | Three reports published in 2008 | Health Scotland |
3.2 | Attitudes to drinking alcohol | To monitor attitudes towards alcohol consumption in the general population. | Module of questions in the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey | Scottish Centre for Social Research | Report published August 2008 | Scottish Government |
3.3 | Underage sales | To evaluate test purchasing pilot for illegal sales of alcohol to children under the age of 18. | Qualitative research | Scottish Centre for Social Research | Published 2007 | Scottish Government |
3.4 | Off sales and problem drinking | To determine the relationship between off-sales and problem drinking in Scotland. | Interviews and observations Literature review | Human Factors Analysts | Published 2007 | Scottish Government |
On-going | | | | |
3.5 | Knowledge, Attitudes and Motivations to health (KAM) | To examine knowledge of unit awareness and role of alcohol in making life healthier. | Module of questions in Scottish Health Survey | Scottish Centre for Social Research | Commenced January 2008; first report due late 2010 / early 2011 | Health Scotland |
To commence | | | | |
3.6 | Attitudes to drinking alcohol | To monitor attitudes towards alcohol consumption in the general population (also part of the MESAS portfolio, see study 6.3). | Module of questions in the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey | Scottish Centre for Social Research | Timing to be agreed (likely to commence 2012) | Scottish Government |
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4. Improved support and treatment
There is strong evidence that early intervention with individuals whose drinking is likely to expose them to increased risk can be effective in helping them to reduce their alcohol intake. There is therefore the need to improve the identification of individuals who are drinking to assess and to offer enhanced support to enable them to make positive changes. Those with more serious problems often require more intensive support to enable them to address their drinking. Key actions currently or shortly to be taken forward include:
- A 3 year NHS HEAT target on the delivery of 150,000 alcohol brief interventions in the priority areas of primary care, antenatal care, and Accident and Emergency Departments by 2010/11;
- A comprehensive national training programme for staff involved in delivering brief interventions;
- Work with a wide range of partners to ensure that local delivery of services to tackle alcohol misuse is effective, efficient and accountable, and reflects both national and local priorities;
- A new alcohol waiting times target to ensure that by March 2013 90% of clients will wait no longer than 3 weeks from referral received to appropriate treatment;
- An essential services working group to update core services on alcohol treatment and support;
- Work with partners to encourage the development of integrated care pathways for offenders and information sharing to ensure they receive continuity of alcohol support and treatment both in custody and in the community.
A significant body of research to inform the development of interventions and/or to test the potential effectiveness of interventions delivered across a range of settings is currently underway. Colleagues at NHS Health Scotland are also undertaking a programme of research on alcohol and offenders on behalf of the Scottish Government.
Current projects / recently completed studies
| Focus | Purpose | Method | Who by | Start date / status | Funding |
Recently completed studies | | | | |
4.1 | Recording of drug and alcohol use in pregnancy | To audit current practice in recording of drug and alcohol misuse in pregnancy via SMR02. | Analysis of SMR02 data. Interviews with staff from main maternity units | Scottish Centre for Social Research | Final report published autumn 2008 | Health Scotland & Scottish Government |
4.2 | Homeless people | To investigate the effectiveness of substance misuse services in reducing the level of homelessness. | Evidence review and mapping exercise | University of York | Final report published autumn 2008 | Scottish Government |
4.3 | Primary care settings | To review awareness and implementation of the SIGN 74 guideline, identify examples of good practice, and support required to further the implementation of the guidance. | Qualitative and quantitative research | Figure 8 Consulting | Published May 2008 | Health Scotland |
4.4 | Alcohol treatment capacity | To determine the prevalence of problematic drinking and map the proportion entering and/or requiring treatment against the capacity of existing services. | Qualitative and quantitative research | Figure 8 Consulting / King's College London (managed by SAADAT) | Report published August 2009 | Scottish Government |
4.5 | Services for drunk and incapable people | To review existing literature on services for drunk and incapable people, map existing schemes, establish the number of people that could potentially benefit from services, establish the key elements of successful approaches. | Literature review, analysis of data, mapping exercise | Griesbach and Associates | Report published November 2009; national dissemination event held | Scottish Government |
4.6 | Alcohol and obesity in liver disease | Assessing the interaction of alcohol and obesity in increasing liver disease risk. | Analyses of data from two of the Midspan prospective cohort studies | Universities of Glasgow and Bristol | Completed early 2010 | Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Government |
On-going projects | | | | |
4.7 | Prison Alcohol Needs Assessment | To undertake a needs assessment of alcohol problems in prisoners and provide recommendations for service improvement. | Rapid review, needs assessment, interviews / focus groups across prison estate and case-study of individual prison | University of Stirling (managed by Health Scotland) | Commenced August 2009; due for completion Autumn 2010 | Scottish Government |
4.8 | Brief interventions - community justice settings | To evaluate the potential effectiveness (mainly in terms of process) of delivering screening and brief interventions to new clients presenting to community service and probation services. | Pilot hosted by Perth & Kinross Criminal Justice Services, with North and South Lanarkshire involvement | MVA Consultancy (managed by Health Scotland) | On-going; due for completion 2011 | Scottish Government |
4.9 | Interventions in community justice settings - scoping study | To map plans, arrangements and procedures in place in local areas to identify and intervene with offenders with alcohol problems, including identifying good practice. | Literature review and interviews / survey with key informants | MVA Consultancy (managed by Health Scotland) | Due for completion Autumn 2010 | Scottish Government |
4.10 | Social Work Services and Recovery Review | To review the existing evidence about the contribution of social work and social care services to facilitating recovery from drugs and alcohol misuse. | Rapid evidence assessments of relevant areas of literature | University of Bedfordshire | Due for completion Autumn 2010 | Scottish Government / ADSW / IRISS |
4.11 | Brief interventions - sexual health settings | To conduct a pilot study to assess the potential effectiveness of brief interventions delivered in GUM and Family Planning clinics. | Pilot projects in Aberdeen and Glasgow | NHS Grampian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde | On-going; due for completion late 2011 | Scottish Government |
4.12 | Brief interventions - pharmacies | To conduct a pilot study to examine provision of a brief alcohol intervention in community pharmacies, in terms of practical considerations, recruitment of pharmacists and patients, uptake, potential effectiveness and acceptability to pharmacists and clients. | Pilot project in Aberdeenshire involving community pharmacies | University of Aberdeen | On-going; due for completion 2011 | Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Government |
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5. Harm-related studies and health inequalities
There are a number of additional studies that do not sit within the four broad Framework for Action themes outlined above. These projects generally relate to identifying the scale of the problem or exploring reasons for increasing trends.
Current projects / recently completed studies
| Focus | Purpose | Method | Who by | Start date / status | Funding | |
Recently completed studies | | | | | |
5.1 | Alcohol attributable fractions | To develop alcohol attributable fractions to provide estimates of alcohol attributable mortality and hospital discharges. To estimate the burden of alcohol-related disease. | Literature Review and modelling of SHeS data | ISD (Substance Misuse Programme) / ScotPHO | Published June 2009 | ISD | |
5.2 | Cost of alcohol misuse in Scotland | To derive estimates of the cost of alcohol misuse in Scotland, across a range of domains. | Review of the existing literature and approaches used in other costing studies; estimation of the economic and socials cost of alcohol misuse | York Health Economics Consortium | Report published January 2010 | Scottish Government | |
5.3 | Drug injectors with HCV | To determine hospital utilisation, morbidity and mortality related to diagnosed HCV infection. To determine the association between alcohol and diagnosed HCV infection among injectors in Scotland. | Record linkage study | Health Protection Scotland | Completed; number of papers published | Scottish Government | |
On-going studies | | | | | |
5.4 | Problematic alcohol use in offenders: interrogation of Social Enquiry Reports (SERs) | To determine the number of Social Enquiry Reports where mention of problematic alcohol use is made and whether this is linked to the offence. | Manual interrogation of all Social Enquiry Reports in Scotland for 2009/10 financial year | ISD | Commenced August 2010; due for completion Spring 2011 | Scottish Government | |
To commence | | | | |
5.5 | Alcohol attributable fractions | To rerun alcohol attributable mortality and morbidity estimates using Scottish Health Survey 2008/9 data. | Data modelling | ISD | To be agreed | ISD |
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6. Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland's Alcohol Strategy (MESAS)
Monitoring and Evaluating Scotland's Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) is a portfolio of evaluation studies, led by NHS Health Scotland on behalf of Scottish Government and overseen by the Scottish Government's Alcohol Evidence Group, with the aim of monitoring and evaluating the implementation and impact of current alcohol strategy in Scotland. The MESAS research began in late 2009 and will run through to 2014, with the routine monitoring of data continuing beyond.
Evaluation is more than just providing a final verdict on effectiveness. Evaluation asks not just 'did it work' but 'how is it working, who for and how might it work better?' To contribute to policy improvement, the evaluation portfolio therefore considers implementation and differential impact (where possible) alongside the population outcomes that will assess effectiveness. The study portfolio outlined below was designed by a group of stakeholders brought together by under the banner of the Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group for Alcohol (MERGA), with input from the Scottish Government and Alcohol Industry Partnership. Further details of the portfolio and individual studies can be found at: http://www.healthscotland.com/scotlands-health/evaluation/planning/MESAS.aspx
MESAS Studies
| Focus | Purpose | Method | Who by | Start date / status | Funding | |
On-going | | | | | |
6.1 | Implementation of the Licensing Act | To describe implementation of, and compliance with, the relevant requirements in the Act, assess effectiveness in controlling availability and affordability and generate learning to inform implementation improvement or future legislation. Following the passage of the Alcohol Bill, the study will be extended to include the implementation and compliance with the Act. | This study will consist of a number of components using both quantitative and qualitative data with a national overview complemented by additional detail generated through case studies in a sample of local Licensing Board areas. | Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen). Managed by Health Scotland | Commenced January 2010; due for completion 2012 | Scottish Government | |
6.2 | Alcohol Brief Interventions | To describe the implementation of alcohol brief interventions (ABIs), assess the extent to which they are being delivered as intended and with sufficient reach to influence outcomes, and generate learning to inform implementation improvement. | Consists of a number of components using both quantitative and qualitative data and will be on two levels: a national overview complemented by detail generated case study in a sample of local Health Boards. | University of Stirling (lead) with University of Dundee and university of Glasgow Managed by Health Scotland | Commenced March 2010; due for completion 2011 | Scottish Government | |
6.3 | Knowledge, Attitudes and Purchasing | To assess changes in self report knowledge of sensible drinking guidelines and attitudes to alcohol; consider how these may relate to changes in other outcomes. | Analysis of survey data; commissioning of module of question in Scottish Social Attitudes Survey. | Health Scotland / ScotCen (SSAS module) | On-going; timing of SSAS module to be agreed | Scottish Government | |
6.4 | Alcohol Consumption and Affordability | To analyse trends in alcohol sales / consumption in Scotland between mid 1990s and 2013; to assess the impact price and affordability of alcohol has on trends in alcohol consumption. | Secondary analysis of data from industry sales data and national surveys. | Sales and price data procured from Nielsen Company and CGA Strategy; Health Scotland to manage and conduct in-house analyses of sales and survey data. | Commenced November 2009 | Scottish Government |
6.5 | Alcohol-related harms | To assess the impact of changing patterns of drinking and levels of consumption on a range of alcohol related harm outcomes. | Secondary analyses of routine datasets to establish the relationship between consumption and alcohol related health, crime and safety and educational outcomes. | Information Services Division | Commenced 2010 | Scottish Government |
6.6 | Economic impact scoping study | To scope out the options and costs for conducting a full analyses of the impact of the Scottish Government's alcohol strategy on the alcohol industry in Scotland. | Review of existing data sources; scoping study to establish availability of alternative data sources to inform potential larger study. | Universities of Dundee and Aberdeen. Managed by Health Scotland. | Commenced February 2010; due to report late 2010 / early 2011 | Scottish Government |
To commence | | | | |
6.7 | Treatment and care service capacity | To determine whether the increase in alcohol funding has lead to an increase in service capacity; the downstream impact of the HEAT alcohol brief interventions target on specialist services. | Methodology and scope to be agreed | To be commissioned. Managed by Health Scotland. | 2011 | Scottish Government |
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7. Additional gaps
The purpose of the Scottish Alcohol Research Framework is to develop research and analyses to directly support and inform policy development and the evaluation of current initiatives. The Alcohol Evidence Group is aware of the considerable and growing body of research on alcohol misuse, the harm associated with it and the interventions being developed and tested to address that harm currently being carried out in Scotland and elsewhere. This includes major new research initiatives currently being taken forward by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and through the Medical Research Council Addictions research strategy.
Capacity within the alcohol research community has expanded significantly since the original review of the alcohol research literature was undertaken by NHS Health Scotland in 2006-7. Given the need for policy makers to be aware of the most up-to-date and robust evidence available, a further scoping exercise is proposed to ensure that key themes emerging from new research are known and that additional gaps in the evidence base identified. Existing gaps in the evidence base include:
- Further research to establish the link between alcohol and crime, and particularly the proportion of crimes likely to be alcohol-related;
- A better understanding of the range and magnitude of alcohol's harm to others by measuring the adverse effects of drinking on people other than the drinker;
- To develop our knowledge of how young people's cognitions and drinking behaviour are shaped and what this may mean for developing more effective interventions for young people;
- Research to inform our understanding of the link between alcohol use and mental well-being;
- Further work on the social patterning of alcohol consumption and harm, including factors influencing the observed health inequalities in alcohol-related harm.
For further information on the Scottish Alcohol Research Framework, please contact Iain MacAllister (Principal Researcher, Alcohol Research) at Iain.MacAllister@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
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