APOLNET | Volunteer Action Online Project history

Volunteer@ction Online
Alcohol Education Project

In April 2000, the Ontario Public Health Association's Alcohol Policy Network, along with the Association to Reduce Alcohol Promotion in Ontario, The Health Communication Unit at the Centre for Health Promotion, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters received a two year grant from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation to expand the usefulness, reach and impact of the APOLNET web site. Below is a summary of the Alcohol Education Project.

Goal

Rationale

Deliverables

Anticipated Benefits

Indicators of Success

To promote greater public awareness of the effects of alcohol on health and safety and strengthen the ability of Canada's broadcast media to comply with CRTC alcohol education requirements by:

Creating, maintaining and promoting the use of a searchable online database of relevant mass media public education resources appropriate for use in Ontario;
Assisting non-profit and broader public sector agencies to create, disseminate and assess the impact of mass media public education campaigns, tools and resources by posting or linking to the latest research and information on best practices, social marketing tools and techniques, potential funding sources, creative talent, etc.;
Promoting ongoing information-sharing and collaboration among groups active in alcohol education, including the alcohol industry, through a listserv and a networking/key contacts database; and
Assessing the impact of the project and sharing the results with key stakeholders.

Rationale

Canadian broadcasters are required to do alcohol education by the CRTC;
Access to public service announcements and other mass media educational resources produced by health and safety groups is limited due to the lack of a centralized clearinghouse;
Partnership members devote many hours responding to individual requests for resources from radio and TV stations and groups wishing to develop new resources when such requests could be fulfilled in a more efficient, equitable and timely manner online;
Groups active in alcohol education often target similar groups (eg. Youth) for alcohol education initiatives without the benefit of others' experiences and expertise; and
The Alcohol Policy Network and ARAPO already have a comprehensive non-partisan site devoted to alcohol policy and advertising issues and widely accessed by researchers, public health and safety professionals and community members interested in alcohol issues.

Target Groups

Ontario broadcasters and other media required by law to educate the public about the consequences of immoderate drinking;
Public health and safety professionals with an injury/substance abuse prevention mandate (e.g. public health nurses, health promoters, community development workers, police); and
Community-based organizations across Ontario, including volunteer-driven grassroots anti-drinking and driving groups (eg., Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving, local chapters of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, etc.), drug awareness committees, etc. who want to reduce duplication, make the best use of limited resources and maximize their effectiveness.

Deliverables

Web-based, searchable, user-friendly, comprehensive, well-maintained and well-accessed database of community-based alcohol education materials. This database would be loosely based on the US National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information Prevention Materials Database (see www.health.org:80/DBarea/index.htm).In the initial stages, the database will focus on public service announcements. As the project progresses, other educational materials such as posters, brochures, billboard PSAs, audio-visual materials, etc. could also be referenced. Criteria for the materials to be included in the database will be developed jointly by the project team, although the focus will be on collecting resources developed by Ontario groups and/or the use of appropriate resources specifically in the province;
Comprehensive, user-updated web-based Networking/Key Contacts Database loosely based on OPHA's Public Health 411 database. The Networking/Key Contacts Database will enable individuals interested in the alcohol policy field with an opportunity to share their skills, knowledge and expertise with others. This database will also be of benefit to individuals looking for speakers, researchers, specialists in a particular field;
An expanded and updated APOLNET web-site, in particular the Alcohol Advertising Action Pack. The latter will include information on planning, implementing and evaluating mass-media compaigns, psychographic data on key target groups, as well as practical resources for developing effective messages, getting PSA's on-air, and tracking and evaluating impact;
A listserv with an online archive and list of Frequently Asked Questions to encourage ongoing networking and information exchange. FAQ's will be generated by all project partners based on their experiences to date as well as ongoing monitoring of the listserv. The archive will be edited to reduce duplication, maximize usefulness and address any confidentiality concerns listserv members might have;
Regional presentations, seminars, displays, mailings, teleconferences and consulting assistance on health comunication principles and the newly developed databases, action packs, listserv, etc. to address the awareness, knowledge and skills gaps of broadcasters, community groups, public health professionals and others active in alcohol education in Ontario. The presentations would be complemented by a display, promotional brochures and other materials highlighting the project. Conferences targeted for these include: the annual Ontario Public Health Association Conference, Manage the Energy Conference on Injury Prevention and Impaired Driving, the Millennium Conference on Addictions, the Alcohol Policy XII Conference, Alcohol and Drug Concerns Conference, Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving Annual Conference, FOCUS Community Annual Meeting, the Health Communication Unit Workshop Series, Ontario Physical and Health Education Annual Conference, Ontario Federations of Public and Catholic School Teachers Annual Conferences, as well as regional Substance Abuse Network and Drug Awareness Committee Meetings;
Financial and activity reports as per grant requirements; and
Comprehensive final report detailing the extent to which the project met its goals and objectives as well as an implementation plan for sustaining the project within 4 weeks of project completion.

Anticipated Benefits

Increased access by broadcast media and health and safety groups to existing and newly developed mass media alcohol education resources;
Reduced duplication, overlap, gaps; greater information-sharing and collaboration among industry, community and other groups active in alcohol education;
More effective use of new and existing resources developed by a broader range of groups across Canada and internationally and appropriate for use in Ontario;
More mass media alcohol education resources based on solid health communication principles developed by groups across the province; and
Increased information on the health and safety impacts of alcohol available to general public and groups at risk such as youth.

Indicators of Success

The following will be used as indicators of project success:

User feedback on quality, reliability, relevance and usefulness of databases, updated alcohol advertising action pack, listserv and general enhancements to the APOLNET site;
Quantity, quality and source of public education messages broadcast during life of project vs 1999
Size and quality of databases, including number of records, number of organizations posting information, range of issues addressed, selection of resources to be included, etc.
Number of database users, listserv subscribers
Number of html documents updated/added to the web site
Number of people/organizations attending training sessions, participating in teleconferences and seeking information as a result of the project
Percentage increase in APOLNET hits/visitors
Number of volunteer and externally funded staff hours devoted this project by partner agencies
Value of in-kind and other resources generated by the project
Satisfaction of partner organizations with partnership activities, outcomes, etc.; and
Commitment of resources, etc. by partners and others to enable the project to continue beyond the lifetime of the VAO grant.

Partners & Roles

The Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA) will be contributing to the project in two ways. As a lead partner, it will be accountable for the financial and activity reporting requirements of the project. Through the Alcohol Policy Network, it will also provide staff time and expertise for partnership support as well as project planning, implementation, evaluation and sustainability beyond the VAO funding period. OPHA has a provincial mandate, a proven track record in collaborative project management and an unblemished history of fiscal responsibility and efficient operation. It also recently launched a networking/key contacts database for public health professionals which could be used as a model for the Key Contacts Database proposed by this project. The Alcohol Policy Network has extensive experience in web site development and maintenance. APOLNET, the APN site launched in October 1995, with assistance from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health's Substance Abuse Network of Ontario, is updated frequently and is seen by researchers, media, public health professionals and concerned citizens as a credible, timely and user-friendly source of alcohol policy related information.

The Association to Reduce Alcohol Promotion in Ontario (ARAPO), is a community-based, provincial association. ARAPO's members share the goal of promoting public health and safety by reducing alcohol consumption through education and other health promotion strategies. The main focus of their work is to reduce the influence of alcohol advertising, promotion and sponsorship, especially on children and youth. ARAPO produces many resource materials, hosts workshops and seminars, hosts the Alcohol Advertising Action Pack, on APOLNET, presents at public forums and responds to emerging alcohol advertising issues. ARAPO will be contributing an alcohol advertising perspective to the Project, including the assistance with database content research, web-site promotion, user-training and support, and listserv development.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) was created in the Spring of 1998 as a result of the amalgamation of the Clarke Institute, Addiction Research Foundation, Queen Street Mental Health and the Donwood Institute. Building on the legacies of the four founding organizations, CAMH offers a unique model for understanding and helping people with addiction and mental illness, for preventing substance abuse and for promoting mental health. It operates central clinical and research facilities in Toronto, a comprehensive addictions library, as well as consulting and training support through CAMH's network of 12 main offices and 16 satellite locations. CAMH will be bringing to the table, expertise in substance abuse prevention and addictions research. CAMH will assist with database content research, cataloguing, evaluation and promotion.

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is an independent association representing the interests of private broadcasters across Canada including 375 radio stations, 80 television stations, 1 network and 23 specialty services primarily located in Ontario. CAB develops industry-wide strategic plans, and works to improve the financial health of the industry. It keeps members abreast of changing technologies and new services, promotes station achievements and responds to public inquiries. On February 1, 1997, a new regulatory regime for broadcast advertising of alcohol came into effect. A key element of the new regime is the voluntary commitment by broadcasters to air educational messages and undertake community service initiatives to inform the public about the negative effects of excessive or inappropriate alcohol consumption and educate them about responsible alcohol use. Broadcasters also have to report annually to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on their alcohol education activities. CAB will be playing a key role in database design and promotion, as well as PSA sourcing and data collection related to the Alcohol Education Project's impact.

The Health Communication Unit (THCU) is a provincial resource centre funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Community Health Branch and operating out of the internationally renowned University of Toronto's Centre for Health Promotion. THCU was originally developed in 1993 to provide support to health promoters in Ontario working in the area of health communication. However, as of 1998, THCU provides support in the areas of health promotion, planning, evaluation, policy change and health communication (sustainability was added recently) through provincial and regional workshops, consultations and presentations as well as the production and distribution of quality resource materials. Services are available free of charge to health promotion practitioners in Ontario including: public health units, community health centres, district health councils, voluntary agencies and health promotion centers in hospitals. THCU has expertise in health communications planning and evaluation and will be helping with database development including criteria for what to include in the database, expert online reviews of materials included in the database, and overall project evaluation.

Budget

$117,000 over 2 years.

Deadline for completion

March 31, 2002.

Funder

Funding for this project is provided by the Government of Ontario, Ministry of Citizenship - Volunteer@ction.online Program.

"The views and opinions expressed in this
website do not necessarily reflect
those of the Government of Ontario."