The Sacramento Neighborhood Alcohol Prevention Project: Outcomes From a Community Prevention Trial*

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: 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. METHOD: 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. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSIONS: 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.