NCJ Number
221124
Journal
Substance Use and Misuse Volume: 42 Issue: 12-13 Dated: 2007 Pages: 2063-2072
Date Published
2007
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This report describes early results from the implementation of the plan in a county in southwestern Sweden.
Abstract
The current Swedish national plan for preventing alcohol consumption related problems puts greater emphasis on community level prevention measures; Sweden’s municipalities have a large degree of freedom in shaping their policy according to local conditions, and there is evidence of considerable prevention efforts in many arenas at the municipal level such as controlling youth access to alcohol. In a period of rapid increase in alcohol consumption, the focus of Swedish alcohol policy has partially been shifted from the Federal to the community level, with an accompanying change in emphasis from central regulation to participative decisionmaking. This shift has been supported by Federal funding. Findings indicated that in this investigation of substance abuse prevention in western Sweden in the period 2002-2004, community alcohol consumption prevention has been strengthened, and that the activity level is high in all municipalities, especially in relation to youth. However, problematic alcoholic beverage consumption by adults was rarely targeted; the limited resources were dispersed over too many projects; there was too little collaboration between stake holding authorities; and adherence to evidence-based practice still is lacking. During 2002-2004, interviews were conducted with the main project representative in each of the county’s 49 municipalities. In addition, more extensive data gathering, involving interviews with a broad range of stakeholders and systematic examination of project-related documentation was undertaken in four representative municipalities. Data were collected from the 49 municipalities on 2 occasions. A baseline interview was administered at the start of the project. Figure, glossary, references