Alcohol use among university students in Sweden measured by an electronic screening instrument

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Electronic-based alcohol screening and brief interventions for university students with problem drinking behaviours forms an important means by which to identify risky drinkers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study an e-SBI project was implemented to assess drinking patterns, and to provide personalised feedback about alcohol consumption and related health problems, to students in a Swedish university. In this study, third semester university students (n = 2858) from all faculties (colleges) at the University were invited to participate in e-SBI screenings. This study employed a randomised controlled trial, with respondents having a equal chance of being assigned to a limited, or full-feedback response.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study shows that high risk drinkers tend to underestimate their own consumption compared to others, and that these high risk drinkers experience more negative consequences after alcohol intake, than other respondents. There was a strong belief, for both high- and low-risk drinkers, that alcohol helped celebrations be more festive. This study also confirms findings from other study locations that while males drank more than females in our study population; females reached the same peak alcohol blood concentrations as males.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Obtaining clear and current information on drinking patterns demonstrated by university students can help public health officials, university administration, and local health care providers develop appropriate prevention and treatment strategies.</p

Information system needs in health promotion: Case study of Safe Community program using requirements engineering methods

Objectives: To explore the need for information system support in health promotion programs. Methods: The international Safe Community program was used as the setting for a case study. The 14 Safe Communities active in Sweden during 2002 were invited to participate. 13 of them accepted. A questionnaire containing questions about computer usage and a critical incident technique instrument was distributed to all practitioners involved in the programs either at a municipality office or a county council (n=202). The Voice of the Customer Table method was used to transform the critical incident data into needs for information system support. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data on computer usage. Results: Sharing of management information, creating social capital for safety promotion, and injury data recording were found to be key areas that need to be further supported by computer-based information systems in safety promotion practice. 90% (111/123) of the respondents reported having access to a personal computer workstation with standard office software. The interest in using more advanced computer applications was low among the practitioners, and there was considerable need for technical user support. Conclusions: Areas where information systems can be used to make health promotion practice more efficient were identified, and patterns of computers usage were described. These results can be used to guide future information systems development projects in health and safety promotion.The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in: Health Informatics Journal, (14), 3, 183-193, 2008.Toomas Timpka, Christina Ölvander and Niklas Hallberg, Information system needs in health promotion: Case study of Safe Community program using requirements engineering methods.http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1081180X08092829. by SAGE Publications Ltd, All rights reserved. http://www.sagepub.com