Widespread commercial promotion of alcohol through elite sport promotes positive attitudes toward alcohol and consumption, which undermines public health efforts to reduce harmful effects of alcohol consumption in our community. Given the heavily embedded financial and cultural association between alcohol and sport in Australia seems unlikely to change in the short-term, there is a need for interim action to counter the unhealthy influence of alcohol sport sponsorship that could be implemented independent of regulatory change. This project will empirically test whether showing adult sports spectators public health advertisements that challenge the pro-drinking messages disseminated through alcohol sport sponsorship bolsters their resistance to the unhealthy influence of alcohol sport sponsorship. If these types of public health advertisements are found to be effective, this approach could be scaled up for mass dissemination via television or online media in the lead up to major alcohol sponsored sporting events, providing health promoters and policy makers with an important tool for helping to protect the Australian population against the persuasive effects of alcohol sport sponsorship.
CBRC staff:
Dr Helen Dixon, Maree Scully, Dr Emily Brennan, Prof Melanie Wakefield
Collaborators:
A/Prof Kerry O’Brien and Dr Brian Vandenberg (Monash University), Prof Simone Pettigrew and Prof Mike Daube (Curtin University), A/Prof Jeff Niederdeppe (Cornell University, USA), Geoff Munro (Alcohol and Drug Foundation), Todd Harper, Rebecca Cook and Sarah Jackson (Cancer Council Victoria).
Funding:
NHMRC Project Grant (1159262)
Years:
2019 - present