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Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
Published in: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research

Results of a cluster randomised controlled trial to reduce risky use of alcohol, alcohol-related HIV risks and improve help-seeking behaviour among safety and security employees in the Western Cape, South Africa

Authors: Nadine Harker Burnhams, Leslie London, Ria Laubscher, Elmarie Nel, Charles Parry

Published in: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Objective

To test the effectiveness of a programme aimed at reducing the risky use of alcohol and alcohol-related HIV risk and increase help-seeking behaviour among a sample of municipal employees in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Methods

A clustered randomised controlled trial was conducted in 2011–2012 among 325 employees. The eight hour intervention, Team Awareness (TA), addressing behavioural risk among employees was administered to 168 employees in the intervention arm and the 157 employees in the control arm who received a one-hour wellness talk.

Results

The results show that TA had the greatest impact on risky drinking practices and hangover effects. There was a significant group × time interaction (F (1, 117) = 25.16, p < 0.0001) with participants in the intervention condition reducing number of days on which they engaged in binge drinking. There was also a significant time effect with participants in the intervention condition reducing the likelihood of going to work with a hangover (F (1,117) = 4.10, p = 0.045). No reduction in HIV-related risk behaviours were found.

Conclusions

This intervention study was able to demonstrate a modest but significant reduction in risky drinking practices and hangover effects. This provides encouraging evidence for the effectiveness of interventions that address risky use of alcohol among employed persons, further providing a launch pad for strengthening and replicating future RCT studies on workplace prevention, especially in developing country settings.

Clinical Trial Registration Number

Pan-African Control Trial Registry (201301000458308).
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Metadata
Title
Results of a cluster randomised controlled trial to reduce risky use of alcohol, alcohol-related HIV risks and improve help-seeking behaviour among safety and security employees in the Western Cape, South Africa
Authors
Nadine Harker Burnhams
Leslie London
Ria Laubscher
Elmarie Nel
Charles Parry
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1747-597X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-015-0014-5

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