"Drink a little less. See a better you!" Social marketing campaign delivered by ChaMPs Public Health Network

Outcomes

Qualitative data revealed that people thought the idea of delivering health checks in a pub setting was a good idea. The participants stated that they preferred the informal setting and felt comfortable partaking in this activity. Many participants found the health checks which were performed to be particularly useful, not time consuming and motivated them to seek further advice from their GP. In regards to the messages given on the creative materials, such as the information given on the beer mats about lack of sleep, energy and poor general health as a consequence of consuming harmful amounts of alcohol, many found this to be informative and useful and most poignantly not too preachy. It became apparent that the target audience was most motivated by hard hitting facts about the consequences to their overall health, depicting the reality of alcohol harm.

Health checks worked for customers because they were no longer than 30 minutes in duration with a health professional in a private area with immediate test results. The advice was then personalised to them based on their results.

There were mixed feelings about the Wind Down as it was thought a good idea in theory but not in practice. The entries to the prize draw suggested that it had been a limited success in terms of those who had purchased a low alcohol and soft drink.

There was evidence of behaviour change in terms of:

• Reducing alcohol consumption especially for those drinking 41+ pints per week.
• Changing eating habit.
• Seeking out help from GPs to follow up on results received and advice given.

The way in which people re-entered the social setting of the bar having participated in a health check and re-joined friendship groups tended to generate conversations about advice given in relation to test results and this was seen as an indication of heightened awareness. There was evidence of increasing awareness about possible healthcare risks from consuming harmful levels of and the importance of seeking advice from health professionals at an early stage.

The pub managers and staff overall helped the project by encouraging their customers to partake in the initiative, and in providing the setting for this to occur. The setting of the pub proved to be crucial as a way of reaching those who would not normally access health services or seek advice.

What did the publicans’ think?

Jane Christian, pub manager at the Traveller’s Rest, Macclesfield, (Robinsons)

‘I thought a lot of the regulars would be quite skeptical about having a health initiative in the pub, but they proved me wrong. I signed up a lot of the regulars to have a health check. Initially a few didn’t want to have one, but once a few of the regulars had one and were talking about them, they all wanted one. There was a nice balance in the pub - of some health messages and promotions, without it being too “in your face”. I’d welcome the NHS back to the Traveller’s Rest to deliver health initiatives – it’s my customers who benefit at the end of the day. It created a good buzz in the pub, brought in new people and I have to say I enjoyed it myself’.