Using qualitative methods within a mixed-methods approach to developing and evaluating interventions to address harmful alcohol use among young people.

Abstract

Objective: This paper illustrates how qualitative methods can be used in the development and evaluation of behavior change interventions. Although many campaigns advise young people to drink responsibly, few clarify how to convert this general advice into specific behavioral strategies. Resilience-based approaches argue that treating young non-drinkers and moderate drinkers as "experts" in responsible alcohol use may facilitate co-creation of acceptable interventions that focus on how to change behavior. Methods: Four distinct phases of intervention development were linked to past research and future developments.Results: First, analysis of correlates of alcohol use using data from a survey of 1412 people aged 16-21 indicated that alcohol harm-reduction interventions should help young people to develop skills and strategies to resist alcohol. Second, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of 25 interviews with people purposively-selected from among the survey sample identified general strategies and specific tactics used by young people to manage opportunities to drink. Third, insights from the first two phases and past qualitative research guided development of video resources to be use in school-based alcohol education to illustrate strategies and tactics for moderate-or non-use of alcohol. Fourth, 18 focus groups with students and teachers were used to evaluate the video: structured Thematic Analysis indicated that after revision the video would be a valuable addition to school-based alcohol education. Conclusions: Findings from the four phases highlight the value of using different qualitative and quantitative methods as part of a program of work designed to inform the development, refinement, and evaluation of health psychology interventions.

Voluntary temporary abstinence from alcohol during “Dry January” and subsequent alcohol use.

“…Whether in the context of temporary abstinence or longer term behavior change, there may be value in helping people to identify and manage tempting situations (de Visser et al, 2015;Hajek, Stead, West, Jarvis & Lancaster, 2009).…”

Alcohol screening and brief interventions for adults and young people in health and community-based settings: a qualitative systematic literature review

“…Linked to this, most ASBI approaches have been developed for use with adults but there is increasing recognition that addressing young people’s use of alcohol requires a different approach [26, 27], especially as young people are more likely to access community-based services, such as local government, social services, or private agencies, than health services [28]. The development of more youth-oriented approaches such as web-based interventions and Motivational Interviewing (MI) have shown some modest effects in reducing alcohol consumption amongst adolescents, but requires further study [29–32].…”

Guidance for reporting intervention development studies in health research (GUIDED): an evidence-based consensus study

“…The approach involved several different techniques identified in Abraham and Michie’s (2008) taxonomy of behavior change intervention techniques -providing information about others’ approval; prompting identification of barriers; providing general encouragement; modeling behavior; and providing opportunities for social comparison; providing information about consequences; teaching use of prompts/cues; and planning social support. Employed 25…”