Designing and evaluating alcohol problem community interventions: Quasi-lessons from the experience of medical trials

Abstract

This paper is a review of past community-based medical experiments in light of the growing interest in similar projects focused on the prevention of alcoholrelated problems. It begins by questioning the appropriateness of the medical metaphor for designing alcohol prevention programs and suggests a few alternatives. The paper then discusses the logic of program design, implementation, and evaluation of alcohol problem prevention programs and suggests methods for the integration of program management and evaluation, functions that are usually considered as inherently contradictory in purpose and potential rivals for project resources. The paper concludes by reviewing what alcohol prevention program researchers can learn from the experience of their medical colleagues to take full advantage of the achievements made by these pioneers of the community intervention model.