EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ALCOHOL EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR INCREASING ALCOHOL KNOWLEDGE AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A QUASI EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Abstract

Introduction: Alcohol is a leading public health problem worldwide. When considering only new youth drinkers, it was found that the prevalence of new drinkers is likely to increase significantly in 2021. Moderate alcohol consumption is pleasurable for many people because of its important role in social participation. The alcohol education program was developed based on Intervention Mapping: A Process for Developing Theory- and Evidence-Based Health Education Programs (Barras) to be consistent with the objectives and target groups which the male students with moderate alcohol drinking.
Objectives: This study aimed to test the effectiveness of an alcohol education program on the knowledge about alcohol and alcohol consumption of moderate drinkers who were University students in Bangkok.
Methods: A quasi-experiment was implemented in two universities. One hundred eighty-four moderate drinkers voluntarily participated in the program (Intervention, n = 92; Control, n = 92). The main components of the program were 1. Knowledge about alcohol consumption 2. Peer drinking 3. Social drinking 4. Influenced by the media 5. Self-efficacy 6. Useful recreational activities. Knowledge about alcohol was delivered through the LINE official account in multimedia format, three times a week. Knowledge about alcohol and alcohol consumption was assessed four times: at baseline, at exit point (6 weeks after baseline), 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months post-intervention. Data were analyzed using Chi-square, Fisher’s exact test, independent t-test, and repeated measures ANOVA.
Result and Discussion: There were positive effects of the alcohol education program on increasing knowledge about alcohol (p-value < 0.001) and reducing the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score (p-value < 0.001) at the 1, 3, and 6-month follow-ups.
Conclusion:
Research suggests that the alcohol education program is effective in educating university students, particularly moderate drinkers, about alcohol consumption and in reducing their overall alcohol intake.