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Prevalence and acceptability of public health initiatives in licensed premises
J Wiggers1, R Considine, J Daly
1Hunter Centre for Health Advancement, New South Wales. jwiggers@doh.health.nsw.gov.au
Objectives:
To determine the prevalence and acceptability of public health initiatives in licensed premises.
Methods:
Licensees/managers of all 333 licensed premises in the Hunter Region of NSW were interviewed to assess the practice of, and interest in undertaking public health initiatives relating to: responsible service of alcohol; environmental tobacco smoke; healthy-food choices; skin, breast and cervical cancer prevention; and the prevention of HIV/AIDS.
Results:
Ninety eight percent of contacted premises participated in the study. Approximately two-thirds of premises reported having a responsible service of alcohol policy and training their staff in responsible service. One third of premises reported the provision of healthy food choices and smoke-free areas. Initiatives concerned with the prevention of cancer and HIV/AIDS were practised by less than 25% of premises. Between 41% and 85% of premises expressed an interest in undertaking all but two initiatives. Almost all interested premises accepted the offer of resources to facilitate adoption of public health initiatives.
Conclusions:
The study suggests that licensed premises are already involved in a number of public health initiatives, and that they appear willing to consider the introduction of a wide range of such initiatives.
Implications:
The prevalence of public health initiatives in licensed premises, and the extent of interest expressed by licensees/managers in undertaking such initiatives suggests that both a need and an opportunity exist for public health and other agencies to be more actively involved in disseminating appropriate services in this setting.