A social marketing approach to involving Afghans in community-level alcohol problem prevention

A program for preventing alcohol-related problems at the community level using environmentally-focused, public health approaches sought to involve a new segment of the community. That segment consisted of recently-immigrated Afghans from a traditionally abstinent culture. Social marketing research was employed to elicit value-based benefits to be used in promoting the product (involvement with environmental change efforts) to the target audience. While the channels of distribution for promotional messages were easily identified, special attention was required relative to effective spokespersons. Much was also learned about the immigration experience of Afghans in a San Francisco Bay Area community that has significance for other fields.