Monitor & Evaluate
Efforts to curb excessive alcohol use (underage, binge, heavy drinking and drinking by those who are pregnant), need to be monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis. While no one policy in and of itself will be enough to change drinking patterns for any particular population, it is important to see how those efforts are working.
Alcohol use permeates much of our social life and no one measure captures all that is happening in a community. Important first steps include understanding where alcohol is served and sold, ensuring sellers are only selling to those of age and to those who are not already intoxicated, and making sure various ordinances are being enforced. As measurements identify potential problems and gaps in policy, a variety of actions can be taken to address these.
Important First Steps
The first step to evidence-based policy making is collecting data in order to understand what is happening at a population level. There are several effective ways communities can do this, such as through studying alcohol outlet density, conducting Place of Last Drink reviews, and helping law enforcement to conduct semi-annual Minimum Legal Drinking Age compliance checks. In addition, the DHS alcohol dashboard has easily accessible data on alcohol use and harms. Resources for local advocates to use in monitoring what is happening in their communities are provided here as well as excellent information from the CDC, SAMSHA and NIAAA and America’s Health Rankings.
If you have questions or need technical assistance or training in these areas, please contact the Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project. Check back here periodically as we plan to post new and helpful tools for you and your community as they become available.
Alcohol Outlet Density Summary
Measuring how closely alcohol retail businesses are located within a community and/or mapping the locations of alcohol retailers provides useful data to drive informed decision-making and to reduce alcohol use by reducing its availability, as explained in this summary by the Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project.
Other Resources
Conducting a Scan of Alcohol Signage at Class A Retailers
Cataloging the alcohol advertising at off-premises outlets (convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores, liquor stores) enables a group to identify locations that fail to comply with local sign codes and then seek enforcement.
This tool, developed by the Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project, walks you through the steps of conducting a scan of alcohol signage.