The salience of alcohol-related issues across the adult lifespan

Objective: The growing costs to the community of excessive alcohol consumption have resulted in pressure for governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to develop strategies to address this problem, but they do so in a highly constrained resource environment. To provide evidence of health education approaches that may be effective across multiple drinker segments, and hence be relevant to a large number of drinkers, this study investigated the alcohol-related issues that are most salient to adult drinkers at different life stages. Method: Ten focus groups were conducted with 82 drinkers aged 18-65 years in Perth, Western Australia. Results: Sixteen categories of concerns were identified that related to three main themes of social, health and logistical issues. The youngest drinkers nominated the largest number of issues and older drinkers the least, although there were certain issues, such as concerns relating to role modelling and product quality, that became of increasing relevance with age. Conclusion: Study findings provide insights for those seeking to develop strategies to address alcohol-related harm at the population level.