Alcohol Sale Refusals to Pseudo-Intoxicated Patrons In Primarily Spanish-Speaking Premises

Alcohol Sale Refusals to Pseudo-Intoxicated Patrons In Primarily Spanish-Speaking Premises

Klein Buendel Senior Scientist Dr. W. Gill Woodall presented data on alcohol over-service from the WayToServe-Español project on a panel discussion at the 42nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism held in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 22-26, 2019.

The over-service of alcohol to individuals who show signs of intoxication is problematic for public health because it contributes to drunk driving and alcohol-related injury and death. In addition, little is known about alcohol over-service in premises where business is conducted primarily in Spanish because these alcohol service situations have been understudied.

Dr. Woodall presented data from a baseline assessment of a randomized trial that investigated Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) training in predominately Spanish-speaking premises in Texas and New Mexico. The research provides a unique opportunity to contrast two states and communities with similar populations, but different alcohol policies and practices.

Hispanic confederates were trained to enact evidence-based signs of intoxication while attempting to purchase an alcoholic beverage in Spanish. Over-service was measured using a pseudo-intoxicated patron protocol. Baseline refusal rates were 12% in Texas and 34% in New Mexico. On the panel, Dr. Woodall discussed the implications of these baseline data for RBS training in minority communities and alcohol policy.

This research is funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health (MD010405; Dr. W. Gill Woodall, Klein Buendel, Principal Investigator). Collaborating co-authors on the presentation included Dr. Robert Saltz from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Dr. David Buller from Klein Buendel, Dr. Victoria Sanchez and Dr. Randall Starling from the University of New Mexico, and Dr. Areli Chacon Silva and Dr. Frank Perez from the University of Texas at El Paso.

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