Title: AlcoholScreening.org Screens Over 200,000 Individuals for Risky Drinking
Author:
Section/SPIG: Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs
Issue Date:
Is my drinking risky? At AlcoholScreening.org, over 200,000 individuals have learned the answer to this question by taking a confidential, informative self-test to assess their drinking patterns. They then receive personalized feedback discussing whether their alcohol consumption is likely to be within safe limits, or if it may be harmful to their health, now or in the future. The feedback also consists of normative data, comparing them with others of the same age and gender to give a true sense of whether they drink more or less than their peers.
"Recent studies are showing that Internet users are focusing more and more of their time on searching for health information. AlcoholScreening.org is helping them with this by offering a simple easy-to-use tool to assess their personal drinking behavior," says Marc Belanger, project manager of AlcoholScreening.org. Answering all 13 questions only takes a few minutes, and all information is anonymous and confidential.
AlcoholScreening.org is a free service of Join Together, a project of the Boston University School of Public Health. The site launched during National Alcohol Awareness Month (April) 2001, and has since had more than 460,000 visitors. Many Web sites have linked to it, including About.com, the Montana and Massachusetts state health departments, Delta Airlines, SoberCity.com, the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, WebMD, and many universities across the country. AlcoholScreening.org has also been featured on the television programs CNN Presents and Dateline NBC, and in online reports on WebMD, CNN, MSNBC, and other media Web sites.
"I think much of the success of AlcoholScreening.org is not only that it's free to the public, but also the free promotional tools offered that consumers are using to promote it," says Belanger. "Not only do we offer Web graphics, but we've gone a bit further and made catchy print ads, envelope stuffers, and door-hangers, which are popular in university settings." For customization purposes, original working documents are available for each promotional piece. More information and downloads can be found at: http://www.AlcoholScreening.org/Promote.
There are additional sites using the AlcoholScreening Syndication Tool. This technology seamlessly integrates the content of AlcoholScreening.org into the structure and design of a third-party site. Two of many sites chosen to be syndication partners are Unity Health Systems and the Montana State University Counseling Center. The syndication tool allows for the capturing of anonymous usage data and the ability to add customized content into the various resource sections.
AlcoholScreening.org also features answers to frequently asked questions about alcohol and health, links to support resources, and a database of 11,000 local treatment programs throughout the United States. For no-nonsense, health-based alcohol use information, visit http://www.AlcoholScreening.org/Promote.
Join Together is a national resource supporting community-based efforts to reduce substance use disorders and gun violence. More information about Join Together is available at: http://www.JoinTogether.org.