Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Casswell

Publications and source records attributed to S Casswell.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Evaluating community development programs for health promotion: problems illustrated by a New Zealand example.

This paper illustrates problems in the evaluation of community development programs for health promotion. It is based on the authors' retrospective process evaluation of the Wanganui Community Alcohol Action Program (WCAAP), a recent example of a health promotion program directed at reducing alcohol-related problems in a small New Zealand town. Described by its designers as a community-based program, it included coordination of community organizations, education, publicity and increased enforcement of drinking laws. Discussion of the problems in the evaluation of such programs puts them within the context of the substantial body of previous social science research in both evaluation and community development. This, it is argued, is a body of knowledge with which health promotion researchers need to be conversant. Community development programs usually stem from a process of negotiation between interest groups with differing objectives. This results in a changing definition of both the problem to be solved and the nature of the solution, making evaluation difficult. Community development is also likely to be seen as a new solution providing a panacea for old problems. This can lead to such programs being too ambitious. From the point of view of experimental design these programs are likely to have a number of technical problems. This paper argues that these problems are so significant that it often unwise to attempt large scale evaluations of community development programs. Rather, attention should be concentrated on critically assessing the policy-making process and disseminating previous knowledge about such programs.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1989

An evaluated community action project on alcohol.

This article reports outcomes of an evaluated community action program directed toward alcohol problem prevention. In a quasi-experimental design, change was monitored in six cities--two cities with an alcohol-focused community organizer and media campaign, two cities with the media campaign only and two reference cities. The community organizers worked with a local alcohol coordinating committee and other local organizations. They focused on alcohol availability (including the promotion of nonalcoholic beverages), advertising and, to a lesser extent, pricing policies. The media campaign focused on reducing the large-quantity drinking of young men, and generated considerable controversy. Before and after surveys of the general population were carried out to evaluate the outcome of the project. Support for control policies on advertising, availability and price held steady in the treatment communities but dropped in the reference communities. The perception of alcohol being essential to entertaining and as being relatively innocuous decreased significantly in the community-action cities. The project thus appears to have met its objectives in these areas, although primarily by stemming the national trend toward greater support for liberalization.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1988

Possibilities for the promotion of good health.

Health promotion seeks to effect change at the level of the population in order to prevent ill health. Some areas needing change, for example in relation to nutrition, exercise, alcohol and tobacco, are well documented. Others, particularly in the area of social processes, require further elucidation. Considerations of both efficacy and ethics are responsible for a current shift in emphasis such that the potential health impacts of public policies are seen as important health promotion tools. Research which specifically guides and supports health promotion activity is urgently needed. Such research goes beyond the provision of epidemiological data and requires an amalgam of disciplinary methods and theoretical approaches, particularly those of the social sciences. A positive commitment to the long term funding of such research is needed in New Zealand if the resources placed into health promotion are to be utilised effectively. In keeping with this symposium on Challenges for Medical Research, a major focus of this paper will be the characteristics of research specifically aimed at the development of health promotion. However, one of the characteristics of research for health promotion which differentiates it from other health-related research is a greater action-orientation and a closer link with programmes and policies. It is necessary, therefore, to consider the characteristics of health promotion itself in order to provide a context for health promotion research.

Health Promotion↗
PubMed1988

Types of female drinkers: a multivariate study.

Data from a total of 1,055 recent female drinkers were analyzed using factor analysis (as a form of data reduction) and cluster analysis in order to identify groups of different types of drinkers. The data were derived from a survey conducted early in 1982 in six provincial cities in New Zealand. A total sample of 3,600 people was obtained of whom 2,091 were women. Of this female sample, 14% were abstainers, 2% were detected as outliners by the cluster technique and a further 35% were not recent drinkers (i.e., they reported not having consumed alcohol in the 7 days preceding the interview). The variables that were factor analyzed included attitudinal, motivational, situational and consumption items. The resulting factor scores were submitted for clustering and the final cluster solutions were cross-tabulated by alcohol consumption measures and demographic characteristics. A total of seven segments were identified: infrequent light drinkers (43%), liberal light drinkers (35%), casual drinkers (7%), frequent early evening drinkers (6%), nightclubbers (5%), heavy hotel-tavern drinkers (2%) and solitary drinkers (2%).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Alcohol knowledge and experience in children aged 9 and 11.

An interview study of New Zealand children initially aged 9 (n = 743) and at the second interview aged 11 (n = 795) investigated the children's knowledge and experience of alcohol. The majority had tried alcohol and, by age 11, over 40% had at least a sip or drink in a typical month. There were indications of a shift towards a more adult drinking pattern in that more children at age 11 drank from their own glass but no increase in the proportion of those with experience of drinking from age 9 to 11. For the majority of children the context of use at both age 9 and age 11 was a parental one. Most children described the effects of drinking alcohol and the characteristics of drunkenness in somewhat negative terms. Television was nominated as a source of knowledge in this area by 37% of the children at age 9 and 47% of the children at age 11.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1987

Types of male drinkers: a multivariate study.

Data from 1070 recent male drinkers were analyzed using factor analysis (as a form of data reduction) and cluster analysis to identify groups of different types of drinkers. The data were derived from a sample of 3600 face-to-face interviews conducted in the early part of 1982 in six provincial cities in New Zealand. Of this total, 1509 interviews were with male respondents, of whom 28% were either abstainers or were not recent drinkers (i.e., had not consumed alcohol in the 7 days preceding the interview). The variables that were factor analyzed included attitudinal, motivational, situational and consumption items. The resulting factor scores were submitted for clustering and the final cluster solutions were cross-tabulated by alcohol consumption measures and demographic characteristics. Six segments were identified and appeared to be primarily distinguishable on the basis of common drinking situations: Light Drinkers (43%), Frequent Early Evening Drinkers (28%), Heavy Hotel-Tavern Drinkers (21%), Club Drinkers (4%), Solitary Drinkers (2%) and Party Drinkers (2%).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Estimated cost of alcohol to the New Zealand public hospital system.

The abuse of alcohol imposes a heavy burden upon our public hospital system. Although a lack of conclusive evidence precludes any accurate estimated of the costs that are incurred, our broad estimates do give some indication of the extent of these costs. Taking into account only those health problems where alcohol is recorded as a causal factor gives an estimated cost of public hospital services of approximately $21 million per year in excess of any costs which might otherwise be expected to arise in the absence of alcohol. Expanding the definition of alcohol-related disorders according to the results of survey data increases the estimated cost to at least $52 million per year and possibly to $115 million or more. These costs are far outweighed by the non-medical costs of excessive drinking such as lost production, crime and a deterioration in the quality of life of alcohol abusers and their families.

Accidents↗
PubMed1984

Drinking and occupational status in New Zealand men.

The self-reported alcohol consumption of various occupational groups in New Zealand is examined. A sample of 10,000, representative of the general adult population, was questioned in 1978-1979. Only data on men (N = 5000) are considered in the present study. Various occupations and groups of occupations are ranked on several variables of frequency and quantity of drinking. The interrelationships of these variables and the working conditions related to them are discussed. There is an association between drinking pattern and general social class, but 61% of the specific occupational groups form a cluster in the range of 25-60 ml of absolute alcohol consumed on one or two occasions per week. The extreme positions on drinking variables of specific occupational groups is examined in terms of job characteristics. Most of the correlations are very low; drinking at work is the highest. The relationships can best be described in terms of the social class of the occupational groups and the frequency vs quantity dichotomy. The distribution of the social classes in terms of drinking intensity is discussed. Employment in the lower classes is related to lower frequency and higher quantity of drinking, and higher cirrhosis mortality. Overall, social class appears to be a more important indicator than occupational group or drinking pattern.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Early experiences with alcohol: a survey of an eight and nine year old sample.

An interview study of 743 eight and nine year old children, and their mothers, investigated the children's experiences with alcohol. There was a high level of personal experience with alcohol: over 90% of the children have had a least a sip of alcohol and a quarter of the children have a sip in a typical month. This reflects the use of alcohol in a family setting by the parents of the sample, and when asked for their source of information about alcohol the majority of children said it came from first hand experience or conversation within the family. However, one-third of the children mentioned television as their source. The effects of alcohol were perceived by the majority of the children primarily as short-term effects indicating drunkenness and a third of the children had been aware of alcohol-related problems within their own environment.

Alcohol Drinking↗