The Sacramento Neighborhood Alcohol Prevention Project: outcomes from a community prevention trial

This article reports the results of the Sacramento Neighborhood Alcohol Prevention Project (SNAPP). SNAPP set as its goal the reduction of alcohol access, drinking, and related problems in two low-income, predominantly ethnic minority neighborhoods, focusing on individuals between the ages 15 and 29, an age group identified with high rates of alcohol-involved problems.

Two neighborhoods in Sacramento were selected to be the intervention sites because they were economically and ethnically diverse and had high rates of crime and other drinking-related problems. The quasi-experimental design of the study took a "phased" approach to program implementation and statistical examination of outcome data. Outcome-related data were collected in the intervention sites as well as in the Sacramento community at large. Five project interventions included a mobilization component to support the overall project, a community awareness component, a responsible beverage-service component, an underage-access law enforcement component, and an intoxicated-patron law enforcement component. Archival data were collected to measure and evaluate study outcomes and to provide background and demographic information for the study.

Overall, we found significant (p < .05) reductions in assaults as reported by police, aggregate emergency medical services (EMS) outcomes, EMS assaults, and EMS motor vehicle accidents.

Results from the Sacramento Neighborhood Alcohol Prevention Project demonstrate the effectiveness of neighborhood-based interventions in the reduction of alcohol-related problems such as assaults, motor vehicle crashes, and sale of alcohol to minors.