NATIONAL ALCOHOL DIARY SURVEY

Description

2. Specification of Requirements 2.1 Background The implementation of the recommendations of the National Substance Misuse Strategy (on Alcohol) Steering Group is a strategic priority for the Department of Health. The Department of Health is seeking formal approval to introduce specific measures, such as minimum pricing. In order to calculate a minimum unit price per gram of alcohol for Ireland a detailed Survey of a representative population sample of adults’ weekly alcohol consumption and expenditure is required. The Health Research Board has agreed to undertake the commissioning of this Survey at the request of the Department. The Health Research Board’s mission is to improve people’s health, patient care and health service delivery by: • Leading and supporting excellent research by outstanding people within a coherent health research system; • Generating knowledge and promoting its application in policy and practice; 2.2. Project description Aim To generate data that will estimate personal consumption of and expenditure on alcohol in the context of Department of Health considerations on the implementation of the National Substance Misuse Strategy (on alcohol) Working Group recommendations. Objectives To collect a core set of data on the drinking patterns of a nationally representative sample of the general Irish population aged 18-75 years in private households. This data will allow for estimates on the amount of alcohol drank at dependent, harmful, hazardous, and low-risk drinking levels. Specific breakdowns required in analysis will include: gender, age-groups, and employment status. Key areas for data collection The core data collection component of the proposed National Alcohol Diary Survey will: • Identify approximately 400 randomly selected sampling points • All questions and response categories will be determined by the Health Research Board and supplied to tenderers • The successful tenderer will