How do residents perceive alcohol availability and its impact on drinking behaviour? A qualitative study

Abstract

Introduction

Reducing alcohol availability has been identified as a potential approach to reduce alcohol use and related harm. In order to regulate alcohol availability at a local level, it is important to involve communities in decision-making and ensure interventions are locally acceptable and appropriate. To do this, we need to improve our understanding of how residents conceptualise alcohol availability and its impact on behaviours. This paper uses data collected in Scotland, a country with particularly high levels of alcohol-related harm, to explore the perspectives of residents, on local alcohol availability and how it might affect drinking behaviours.

Methods

We conducted 11 online focus groups with 45 participants, living in nine strongly contrasting neighbourhoods in Scotland, characterised by varying levels of alcohol retail density change, urbanity and deprivation. We explored participants’ perceptions of their local alcohol environment and alcohol availability, and any perceived relationship between alcohol availability and alcohol-related behaviours.

Results

Participants challenged established notions that alcohol availability is characterised primarily by density of alcohol outlets. According to our participants, availability is about accessibility, ease of purchase and ubiquity of alcohol. Residents drew distinctions between areas of varying deprivation and conceptualised alcohol availability as complex, characterised by market segmentation, and related to price, advertising and the wider environment.

Conclusions

This is one of the few papers to explore residents' perspectives of local alcohol availability and its relationship with alcohol use. It highlights that residents view alcohol availability as encompassing more than just the physical presence of outlets, recognising also the variety of outlet types and the connections between availability, pricing, and advertising. Policies to reduce local availability should consider residents’ perspectives and account for contextual factors such as shifts in the retail landscape and the availability of alcohol-free recreational alternatives.