Invitation to Drinkaware Spring 2021 - 9 Mar

Invitation to Drinkaware Spring 2021 Research Briefing - Alcohol use among teenagers: Evidence from the 3-year independent evaluation of the Junior-Cycle Alcohol Education Programme

Date: 9 March 2021

Time: 12 noon – 1pm

This event will take place online via Zoom  (Book your place here) 

To mark the launch of the 3-year independent evaluation of the Junior-Cycle Alcohol Education Programme (JC-AEP), please join us for our Spring 2021 Research Briefing that will take a look at the importance and value of evaluation through key findings from this pre-post, mixed methods, longitudinal study. In so doing, it will provide a valuable example of the development of an evidence-informed preventative programme to generate positive behaviour change in young people aged 12-15 years.

Drinkaware commissioned Maynooth University to undertake a 3-year independent study to examine the effectiveness, acceptability and implementation of the JC AEP over a three-year delivery period (2018-2020). This study was led by Professor Sinéad McGilloway, Founder and Director of the Centre for Mental Health and Community Research at Maynooth University Department of Psychology, in collaboration with Dr John Weafer of Weafer and Associates.

The findings provide vital insights into changes in ‘real time’, in the use of, and attitudes toward, alcohol amongst teenagers as they grew and matured during the first three years of post-primary school in Ireland. The results also provide important evidence on the perceived impact, acceptability and delivery of the JC AEP across all three years of the Junior Curriculum and in so doing provides important implications for practice and further development.

We are delighted to open this briefing with an introductory presentation by The Wheel on the value of civil society, charities and community groups getting involved in research partnerships with academia and some of the current barriers/challenges for engagement. This will be followed by the keynote presentation delivered by the Principal Investigator of the JC-AEP Evaluation, Professor Sinead McGilloway.

Talk title: Civil Society Engagement in Societal Challenge Research, Value, Barriers & Importance

Speaker: Hugh O’Reilly, Director of Development, The Wheel  

www.linkedin.com/in/hugh-o-reilly-31018b9/

Talk Title: Key findings from the Evaluation of Drinkaware’s Junior Cycle Alcohol Education Programme

Speaker: Professor Sinead McGilloway, Founder and Director Centre for Mental Health and Community Research, Department of Psychology Maynooth University

 https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/people/sin-ad-mcgilloway



Attendance at this event is free. Register via Eventbrite by 5pm 5th March 2021: www.eventbrite.ie/e/drinkaware-spring-2021-research-briefing-tickets-142675346803

All registered participants will be sent an email with instructions on how to attend the briefing via Zoom.

Drinkaware is the national charity working to prevent and reduce alcohol misuse in Ireland, governed by an independent board and regulated by the Charities Regulator. Registered Charity Number: 20204601.