An illuminative evaluation of an alcohol education project

Abstract

This thesis is an illuminative evaluation of the Drinking Choices Project, a health education programme based in the North East of England. The data for the evaluation was gathered by using participant observation. The instructional system, the Drinking Choices Manual, is a five-day teaching plan which includes alcohol knowledge, health education skills and an examination of the attitudes appropriate for health educators in the alcohol field. It was written by Ina Simnett, Linda Wright and Martin Evans. All of the materials are presented in a framework of participatory learning. A pyramid model was designed for the dissemination of the programme; the first people trained were Health Education Officers (HEOs) from the District Health Authorities in the northern region. Courses were run throughout the region, in the first instance for HEOs to be trained to use the Drinking Choices Manual and then, following through the pyramid, the HEOs trained other professionals who trained other colleagues who then used the Drinking Choices materials with their clients. The Introduction to this report describes the initial development and background of the project and the Health Education Council, (which is the Funding body).The thesis is in three parts, the first of which consists of reviews of the literature in the three major aspects of the project: Research Methodology Alcohol use and abuse Participatory learning methods. The second part begins with a description of the culture of the HBO so as to understand the organisational system in which the innovation took place; then the progress through the pyramid of dissemination is described, along with a detailed examination of the Manual itself and an investigation into obstacles encountered in implementing the Project. Part III examines positive aspects of the project, including a variety of outcomes and spin-offs which resulted. In Chapters VIII and IX conclusions and recommendations are presented; in Chapter X, which was written six months after the project ended, the Steps to Successful Change are outlined, followed by an epilogue, appendices, and bibliography.