2026 · Study · English

Design and Feasibility Trial of Interventions to Reduce Young Adult Alcohol Use with Communities That Care Coalitions

Toumbourou, J. W., Osborn, A., Varcoe, J., Smith, R., Doery, E., Kremer, P., Abraham, C., Benstead, M., Coomber, K., & Rowland, B.

Toumbourou, J. W., Osborn, A., Varcoe, J., Smith, R., Doery, E., Kremer, P., Abraham, C., Benstead, M., Coomber, K., & Rowland, B. (2026). Design and Feasibility Trial of Interventions to Reduce Young Adult Alcohol Use with Communities That Care Coalitions. Prevention Science. doi.org/10.1007/s11121-026-01950-y

Summary

Feasibility study from Victoria, Australia, extending Communities That Care coalitions to a group they rarely target: young adults aged 18–29. Three intervention components were piloted in three municipalities and community trends monitored. In 2017 a screening-and-brief-intervention campaign ran through youth-serving organisations in Warrnambool; a randomised waitlist trial with 30 staff in 15 organisations found significantly higher staff confidence (effect size 0.8 SD) and a non-significant rise in screening behaviour (ES 0.4). From 2017 to 2019 revised materials were scaled through 102 organisations across Warrnambool, Geelong and Cardinia, with 4,500 brochures distributed and 33,184 online views. In 2019 monitoring of 12 Geelong bars, with feedback letters, saw a non-significant fall from 92% to 83% of outlets serving intoxicated patrons (ES 0.4). Alcohol-related hospitalisation among 18–29-year-olds fell 15.1% in the target municipalities from 2016/17 to 2019/20 while the state trend rose 1.5%. The authors present these as promising design features that need testing in more rigorous community trials.