The Big Drink Debate: perceptions of the impact of price on alcohol consumption from a large scale cross-sectional convenience survey in north west England

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A large-scale survey was conducted in 2008 in north west England, a region with high levels of alcohol-related harm, during a regional 'Big Drink Debate' campaign. The aim of this paper is to explore perceptions of how alcohol consumption would change if alcohol prices were to increase or decrease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A convenience survey of residents (≥ 18 years) of north west England measured demographics, income, alcohol consumption in previous week, and opinions on drinking behaviour under two pricing conditions: low prices and discounts and increased alcohol prices (either 'decrease', 'no change' or 'increase'). Multinomial logistic regression used three outcomes: 'completely elastic' (consider that lower prices increase drinking and higher prices decrease drinking); 'lower price elastic' (lower prices increase drinking, higher prices have no effect); and 'price inelastic' (no change for either).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 22,780 drinkers surveyed, 80.3% considered lower alcohol prices and discounts would increase alcohol consumption, while 22.1% thought raising prices would decrease consumption, making lower price elasticity only (i.e. lower prices increase drinking, higher prices have no effect) the most common outcome (62%). Compared to a high income/high drinking category, the lightest drinkers with a low income (adjusted odds ratio AOR = 1.78, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.38-2.30) or medium income (AOR = 1.88, CI 1.47-2.41) were most likely to be lower price elastic. Females were more likely than males to be lower price elastic (65% vs 57%) while the reverse was true for complete elasticity (20% vs 26%, P < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Lower pricing increases alcohol consumption, and the alcohol industry's continued focus on discounting sales encourages higher drinking levels. International evidence suggests increasing the price of alcohol reduces consumption, and one in five of the surveyed population agreed; more work is required to increase this agreement to achieve public support for policy change. Such policy should also recognise that alcohol is an addictive drug, and the population may be prepared to pay more to drink the amount they now feel they need.</p

A Needs Assessment Instrument for Environmental Education

Environmental education, as a component of the\ud school curriculum, is unique. Some aspects of the content\ud change rapidly with new research, and environmental\ud education is a relative newcomer to the curriculum.\ud Assessment of the status of environmental education,\ud therefore, needs to be done at relatively short intervals\ud in order to assure that the curriculum is relevant and\ud current.\ud No needs assessment instrument could be found which\ud would not only collect information about the quantity and\ud quality of environmental education in a school setting, but\ud also would gather the opinions of both teachers and\ud administrators. The assumption was that knowledge from\ud both levels of staff could provide communication important\ud to the process of developing or modifying an effective,\ud consistent environmental education curriculum. The purpose\ud of the thesis, then, was to determine whether a needs\ud assessment instrument could be developed which would\ud provide useful answers to several questions determined to\ud be helpful to curriculum planners.\ud The procedures included development of the\ud instrument (a questionnaire was chosen due to the desire\ud for anonymity and the number of individuals to be\ud surveyed), pilot testing it for content, length and\ud clarity, administration of the final form of the instrument\ud to a test school district, analysis of the findings, and\ud presentation of the findings in formats which illustrated\ud the ability of the questionnaire to provide information\ud useful to the planning process.\ud It was concluded the needs assessment instrument\ud did gather information about current and desired amounts of\ud environmental education in the curriculum and effectively\ud answered specific questions about topics and methods\ud incorporated in environmental education. Furthermore, the\ud questionnaire collected information which would allow\ud planners to compare responses of teachers who have had\ud environmental education training with responses of teachers\ud who have not had such training. Finally, the survey\ud provided a basis for comparing the opinions of teachers and\ud administrators.\ud In summary, the findings indicate the needs\ud assessment instrument is a useful tool for curriculum\ud planners in collecting much of the information necessary\ud for a thorough needs assessment process. Additionally, the\ud questionnaire is adaptable to diverse circumstances, and\ud can be readily modified. This needs assessment instrument\ud could prove valuable in the continuous process of\ud evaluating and updating the various aspects of an\ud environmental education curriculum with the goal of\ud maintaining relevant and effective content.Teacher Educatio