Abstract
BackgroundReducing alcohol related harms in Australian Defence Force (ADF) trainees has been identified as a priority, but there are few evidence-based prevention programs available for the military setting. The study aims to test whether the P.A.R.T.Y. program delivered in-hospital or on-base, can reduce harmful alcohol consumption among ADF trainees.Methods/designThe study is a 3-arm randomized controlled trial, involving 953 Royal Australian Navy trainees from a single base. Trainees, aged 18 to 30 years, will be randomly assigned to the study arms: i. in-hospital P.A.R.T.Y.; ii. On-base P.A.R.T.Y.; and iii. Control group. All groups will receive the routine ADF annual alcohol awareness training. The primary outcome is the proportion of participants reporting an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score of 8 or above at 12 months’ post-intervention. The secondary outcome is the number of alcohol related incidents reported to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in the 12 months’ post-intervention.DiscussionThis is the first trial of the use of the P.A.R.T.Y. program in the military. If the proposed intervention proves efficacious, it may be a useful program in the early education of RAN trainees.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12614001332617, date of registration: 18/12/2014 ‘retrospectively registered’.
Highlights
Reducing alcohol related harms in Australian Defence Force (ADF) trainees has been identified as a priority, but there are few evidence-based prevention programs available for the military setting
We expect that naval trainees who participate in an onbase, or in-hospital, P.A.R.T.Y program will have a lower prevalence of hazardous or harmful drinking behaviour, compared to naval trainees who do not attend the P.A.R.T.Y. program
The secondary outcome will be analysed using a Cox Proportional Hazards regression model assessing time to an alcohol related incident reported to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), with participants not reported for an alcohol related incident censored at 12 months’ post-intervention
Summary
The ADF forms part of a broader Australian community, so many factors that contribute to a potentially harmful drinking culture which exist in ADF are a reflection of those that occur in the broader Australian community [15]. To our knowledge this will be the first RCT investigating the efficacy of the P.A.R.T.Y. program in reducing risky drinking. The study will evaluate the effectiveness of two versions of the P.A.R.T.Y. program in young navy trainees. The findings of this project will allow evidenceinformed decision-making related to further roll out of the program. We acknowledge that whilst we will have recruited from the RAN’s largest training base, we are only considering trainees who will remain at this specific base for their ongoing training, missing trainees who will go on to complete their training on other Australian Defence Force bases
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