Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30563484›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2018

Processes, practices and influence: a mixed methods study of public health contributions to alcohol licensing in local government.

Joanna Reynolds, Michael McGrath, Jessica Engen, Ghazaleh Pashmi, Matthew Andrews, Jin Lim, Karen Lock

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Joanna ReynoldsFaculty of Public Health & Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9SH, UK. Joanna.reynolds@lshtm.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2650-6750
Michael McGrathFaculty of Public Health & Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9SH, UK.
Jessica EngenFaculty of Public Health & Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9SH, UK.
Ghazaleh PashmiSafe Sociable London Partnership, Peckham Levels, Level 4, 95A Rye Lane, London, SE15 4ST, UK.
Matthew AndrewsSafe Sociable London Partnership, Peckham Levels, Level 4, 95A Rye Lane, London, SE15 4ST, UK.
Jin LimSouthwark Council, 160 Tooley St, London, SE1 2QH, UK.
Karen LockFaculty of Public Health & Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9SH, UK.

Funding

NIHR School for Public Health Research N/A
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPublic health in England has opportunities to reduce alcohol-related harms via shaping the availability and accessibility of alcohol through the licensing function in local government. While the constraints of licensing legislation have been recognised, what is currently little understood are the day-to-day realities of how public health practitioners enact the licensing role, and how they can influence the local alcohol environment.

methodsTo address this, a mixed-methods study was conducted across 24 local authorities in Greater London between 2016 and 17. Data collection involved ethnographic observation of public health practitioners' alcohol licensing work (in eight local authorities); a survey of public health practitioners (n = 18); interviews with licensing stakeholders (n = 10); and analysis of public health licensing data from five local authorities. Fieldnotes and interview transcripts were analysed thematically, and quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics.

resultsResults indicated that some public health teams struggle to justify the resources required to engage with licensing processes when they perceive little capacity to influence licensing decisions. Other public health teams consider the licensing role as important for shaping the local alcohol environment, and also as a strategic approach for positioning public health within the council. Practitioners use different processes to assess the potential risks of licence applications but also the potential strengths of their objections, to determine when and how actions should be taken. Identifying the direct influence of public health on individual licences is challenging, but the study revealed how practitioners did achieve some level of impact, for example through negotiation with applicants.

conclusionsThis study shows public health impact following alcohol licensing work is difficult to measure in terms of reducing alcohol-related harms, which poses challenges for justifying this work amid resource constraints. However, there is potential added value of the licensing role in strategic positioning of public health in local government to influence broader determinants of health.

Indexed as

LicensureLocal GovernmentAlcohol DrinkingAlcoholic BeveragesHarm ReductionHumansLondonPublic HealthQualitative ResearchSurveys and QuestionnairesAlcoholEnglandEthnographyLicensingLocal governmentMixed methodsProcessPublic health

Identifiers

PMID30563484
PMCPMC6299525

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.