Educating Community Gatekeepers about Alcohol Abuse in Women: Changing Attitudes, Knowledge and Referral Practices

Abstract

Two workshops were designed to influence community gatekeepers' knowledge, attitudes and referral practices toward women alcohol abusers. Both didactic and experiential approaches were employed by a staff of experts and facilitators in the area of alcohol abuse in women. Workshop participants completed self-administered pre- and post-workshop questionnaires and a six month follow-up questionnaire was administered via telephone interview to participants in the first workshop. The workshop format was successful in increasing participants' knowledge about alcohol abuse and women alcohol abusers and gains in knowledge persisted for six months. However, little change in attitudes or behavior was found. The importance of considering the prior training and background characteristics of participants is highlighted. In part, the limited success of the workshop may be due to its appeal primarily to gatekeepers relatively knowledgeable about women's issues and/or alcoholism. New interventions must design outreach techniques to motivate those most in need of training to attend.