Name of Intervention/ Program
Nación Modelo
Background and Situation Analysis
The project aims to address one of the most serious social and public health problems worldwide: harmful alcohol consumption among young and adult individuals. According to data from the World Health Organization (2022), harmful alcohol consumption accounts for more than 5% of the global burden of morbidity, with a disproportionate number of these deaths occurring among young people aged 20 to 39, representing 13.5% of all deaths. In the case of Mexico, the Ministry of Health (2021) estimates that 20 million people face alcohol dependency issues, often starting to drink at the ages of 13 or 14. Regarding this point, data from the 2022 Continuous ENSANUT survey published by the Mexican Ministry of Health reveal that 20.6% of adolescents aged 10 to 19 in Mexico are current alcohol consumers. One of the factors contributing to this is the normalized cultural aspects surrounding the provision of alcoholic beverages to minors by family members, as well as by individuals involved in the sale of alcoholic beverages. Therefore, our mission is to promote conscious and moderate consumption of our products, prioritizing the health and well-being of all individuals. We particularly strive to prevent the sale and consumption of alcohol by minors, as well as harmful consumption by adults, by providing tools and capacity building to key actors to ensure the sustainability of the project. In this way, we align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda, contributing to SDG 3 titled ‘Health and Well-being’, which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages. Specifically, the objectives of the Nación Modelo project are established in such a way that the impact results contribute to achieving the following targets: 3.5 Strengthening the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including the misuse of narcotics and harmful alcohol consumption. 3.d Strengthen the capacity of all countries, particularly developing countries, in early warning, risk reduction, and management of national and global health risks.
Priority Audiences(s)
Our goal is to contribute to the prevention of alcohol sales and consumption among minors and harmful consumption among adults. The 2023 edition focused on taking actions aimed at: Minors between the ages of 11 and 17 and young adults aged 18 to 24; Adults aged 25 to 60 at risk of problematic consumption; Sellers of alcoholic beverages. In the current 2024 edition, the focus is on the following audiences: Beer Lovers: individuals consuming alcoholic beverages aged between 18 and 49 years old. Sales or display of sales: individuals selling alcoholic beverages aged between 18 and 45 years old.
Behavioral Objectives
In the 2023 edition, our aim was to increase motivation among underage youth to avoid alcohol consumption by strengthening their socio-emotional skills and self-awareness for making conscious decisions. Simultaneously, we sought to enhance the intention to change consumption habits among university students and adults by raising awareness of their consumption risk levels and providing timely information for decision-making. This year, the desired behavioral change with beer lovers is for individuals to opt for moderate and responsible alcohol consumption by increasing their awareness of the physical, emotional, and social consequences of harmful consumption. Similarly, we aim to increase willingness to make conscious decisions related to alcohol consumption and reduce self-efficacy regarding driving under the influence. As for alcohol sellers, our goal is to reduce alcohol sales to minors by increasing awareness of the health and developmental effects of alcohol consumption among underage individuals, and by encouraging the request for official identification from young-looking individuals to verify their age.
Description of Strategy/Intervention
The program consists of three intervention action programs: Health, Road Safety, and Responsible Beverage Service, which together promote a Model Nation of Responsible Consumption. Below is the intervention strategy for each line of action: Through the Health and Road Safety action program, we aim to promote responsible alcohol consumption among adults and raise awareness about the consequences of drinking and driving in adults, as well as increase knowledge in road safety through innovation, technology, gamification, and awareness activities regarding the effects of alcohol on health and decision-making. To achieve this, we conduct activations at nationally-reaching events and spaces such as universities. These activations involve informative, playful, and virtual reality dynamics implemented with beer lovers. The circuit of activities comprising the activation is accompanied by an initial and final evaluation questionnaire, designed with the academic support of experts in neuroscience and addictions. This allows us to measure the impact of the activation on individuals’ awareness of the effects of alcohol on health, willingness to make responsible decisions, and reduction in self-efficacy when driving under the influence of alcohol. Via the Responsible Beverage Service action program, we aim to strengthen practices for preventing the sale of alcohol to minors in both open and closed bottle establishments, as well as promote responsible sales to adults. To accomplish this, we will design and implement an interactive training on responsible sales aimed at alcohol-selling establishments, whose effectiveness will be evaluated by implementing the Mystery Shopper program. This program involves pre- and post-training visits to closed and open bottle alcohol-selling establishments, where an 18-year-old who appears younger will attempt to make a purchase, recording whether the seller requested official identification before the alcohol purchase. The project intervention is accompanied by a communication strategy that disseminates actions in the territory, such as activations and trainings, while also promoting a transition to the nacionmodelo.com platform. Here, individuals can access playful and informative tools, as well as audiovisual resources that promote responsible consumption among adults and prevent underage drinking.
Implementation
In the 2023 edition, we made an impact in two states of the Mexican Republic: Jalisco and Hidalgo. This year, the aforementioned states will be joined by CMDX, Yucatán, and Zacatecas, and other states such as Querétaro, Aguascalientes, and San Luis Potosí, where we will be participating with different activities. Through the Health and Road Safety programs, from March to December 2024, we will implement 60 days of activation at different events such as the fairs in Texcoco, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, and Yucatán. Additionally, we will conduct 10 activations across the Mexican Republic. The vendor training and Mystery Shopper program will be implemented from June to November in 799 establishments selling alcoholic beverages, divided across the states of Jalisco, Hidalgo, CMDX, Yucatán, and Zacatecas.
Evaluation Methods and Results
As mentioned earlier, this year, like in the 2023 edition, we support our interventions with evaluation instruments backed by a research protocol previously approved by the ethics committee of the Center for Biological and Agricultural Sciences of the University of Guadalajara (UDG). This protocol and evaluation instrument was developed in collaboration with academics from the Institute of Neurosciences to establish research objectives and information collection procedures. Previously mentioned, the interventions of the Health and Road Safety action programs will be evaluated using a pre-activation assessment instrument and a post-activation assessment instrument. An initial and final evaluation questionnaire is implemented to measure the impact of activation on people’s awareness of the effects of alcohol on health, willingness to make responsible decisions and self-efficacy to drive in drunk state. These questionnaires are designed to capture changes in participants’ perception and behavior before and after activation. Specific evaluation objectives: Clear evaluation objectives are established, such as a 30% increase in levels of awareness of the health effects of alcohol, as well as a 30% reduction in self-perceived efficacy in driving and drinking. These objectives provide tangible metrics to measure the success of the program. Sample size and statistical reliability: It is planned to evaluate the program with a sample of 7,500 people in total and approximately 150 per event. A degree of reliability of 95% and a margin of error of 5% is established, which ensures that the results are statistically significant and representative of the target population. To evaluate the impact of responsible beverage service training with vendors, users will need to complete a diagnostic questionnaire on their knowledge and perceptions regarding the sale of alcohol to minors. At the conclusion of the training, they will respond to the same questionnaire. By analyzing the results of both questionnaires, it will be possible to identify: the percentage increase in knowledge regarding the prevention of underage alcohol consumption, the percentage increase in knowledge regarding responsible sales, and the percentage increase in the intention not to sell alcohol to minors. To reinforce the evaluation of the impact on preventing alcohol sales to minors, the mystery shopper program described earlier will be conducted. Through a web registry, we can monitor the number of establishments requesting identification from minors before and after the training. Below are some significant results from February to September 2023, using the pre and post evaluation methodology, as well as the implementation of activations with underage youth: · 46 participating schools, 300 activations · 28,893 diagnostics conducted with pre and post assessments completed by youth · 36.06% of youth showed a significant and positive increase in the intention to change and motivation to avoid drinking after the program. · More than 30,000 underage youths sensitized about the effects of alcohol at an early age. · 18,212 adults made aware of the harmful effects of alcohol consumption on the body through concise, explained, and provided information in health centers. · 57.13% of individuals reported being willing to reduce their alcohol consumption. · Third-place winners: Best Social Impact Project by the Social Project Institute · 30,000 entries to the Nación Modelo platform.
Entry Letter: R