Importance of the characteristics of gatekeepers in the design of effective alcohol education programs

Community "gatekeepers" (N = 53) participated in an alcohol education workshop designed to increase identification, intervention, and referral of women with alcohol problems. Participants completed questionnaires before and after the workshop and, participated in a six-month follow-up. Results suggest that the higher the educational level and more salient the topic of alcoholism in women, as suggested by greater percent of women clients, the greater the actual gain in knowledge. Gatekeepers with no prior alcoholism training perceived themselves as having less knowledge about alcoholism before the workshop and showed greater pains in perceived knowledge as a result of the workshop than gatekeepers with prior training.