Connecting Alcohol Research and Prevention Practice: Lessons Learned from PAKKA

Abstract

Discusses the Local Alcohol Policy Project (PAKKA), which was carried out between 2004 and 2007 in two Finnish regions comprised of several municipalities. The project has had three main goals: 1) to promote responsible beverage service in restaurants with the idea of decreasing related acute alcohol harms, 2) to increase age-limit control and 3) to develop a model for sustainable prevention at the local level. In the project, researchers and state-level experts from STAKES (National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health) have been active partners with the community organisers in planning and implementing interventions. The PAKKA project has relied on a mixed-intervention strategy that attempts to change the social and economic environments related to risky and underage drinking. The interventions have included evidence-based practices, such as enforcement of the law forbidding alcohol sales to underage and intoxicated persons and responsible beverage service training for shops and bars, but also supportive strategies like media advocacy, alcohol-free events for youth and drama-based educational programs for parents. Aiming for empirical evidence is essential for research, but it is equally important to interpret existing evidence and results with the prevention workers. The dialogue requires common goals and sticking to the research setting, but also flexibility and compromise. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).