Results of a Randomized Trial of Web-Based Retail Onsite Responsible Beverage Service Training: WayToServe.

OBJECTIVE: Research in Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) training indicates that such training can prevent over-service of alcohol and reduce drunk driving. However, reviews of the RBS literature suggest that the quality of training methods and the stability of implementation are important factors in determining RBS training effectiveness. Most RBS classes have been taught live, where the quality of instruction varies across instructors and classes, and the stability of the implementation of an RBS curriculum is variable. Web-based RBS training may carry important advantages by stabilizing instruction and implementation factors. Randomized trial results of a web-based onsite RBS training program (WayToServe® [WTS]) are reported here. It was hypothesized that servers trained by WTS would refuse alcohol service at significantly higher rates compared with Usual and Customary (UC) live training. METHOD: On-site alcohol-serving establishments in New Mexico communities were randomized to receive WTS training (n = 154) or the Usual and Customary live RBS training (n = 155). Premises were assessed at baseline, immediate post-training, 6-months post-training, and 1-year post-training intervals. Pseudo-intoxicated patron protocols were used to assess premise alcohol service during the early to mid-evening hours of 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M., with the percentage of alcohol service refusals to apparently intoxicated pseudo-patrons as the primary outcome variable. RESULTS: Results indicate significantly higher refusal rates for WTS than for UC premises at the immediate (WTS = 68% vs. UC = 49%) and the 1-year post-training assessment points (WTS = 68% vs. UC = 58%) but not at the 6-month post-training assessment (WTS = 69% vs. UC = 64%). Differences in refusal rates based on pseudo-patron age were observed where younger pseudo-patrons were consistently refused more often than older pseudo-patrons. CONCLUSIONS: Effective RBS training can be delivered online, making it a potentially cost-effective way of reaching large alcohol server populations.

Field trial of alcohol-server training for prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: An alcohol-server training program to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome was developed, implemented, and evaluated in a comparison study of public drinking establishments in New Mexico and Oregon. METHOD: The management and serving staffs of 148 establishments licensed for on-premise alcohol sales in the two states studied were trained to discourage alcohol consumption by pregnant customers. Pre- and post-tests of server responses to pregnant-appearing "pseudo-patron" actors ordering alcohol in experimental (n = 148) and comparison (n = 183) establishments were a key method of evaluating the efficacy of this intervention. RESULTS: Within-group chi-square analyses compared rates of service refusal at baseline with 1-month, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up points for both the trained (experimental) and the comparison establishments. No differences were found between experimental and comparison establishments at baseline at either site, but significant differences were found for New Mexico at each posttraining measurement point. In Oregon, the refusal rate at baseline increased from 1.5% at baseline to 8.3% at 1 month, which only approached significance. In New Mexico, at baseline the refusal rate was 8.6%, and it rose to 39.2% at 6 months (p < .0001, odds ratio = 6.83) and remained high at 28.2% at 12 months (p < .001, odds ratio = 4.15). No similarly significant gains were recorded at control establishments. CONCLUSIONS: Supplemental responsible beverage service training for alcohol servers to aid in the prevention of fetal alcohol exposure can be effective in reducing the serving of alcohol to visibly pregnant women, with robust effects continuing over the subsequent year in the New Mexico establishments.