IBA Direct Service Evaluation

In August 2015, an innovative alcohol IBA pilot project was delivered on the streets of Lambeth, south London. Funded by Lambeth Council and Lambeth Clinical Commissioning Group, the project was designed and delivered by Resonant. The Health Innovation Network evaluated the project.

The pilot project tested whether alcohol IBA can be delivered to 18 – 30 year old people by trained workers, known as Brand Ambassadors, who were not healthcare professionals and were not delivering the intervention in a health-related setting.

Alcohol IBA is simple, structured and brief advice given to a person after completing a validated alcohol screening tool. It is a preventative approach aimed at identifying and providing brief advice to increasing and higher-risk drinkers.

The aim of the project was to determine the feasibility of delivering alcohol IBA in a direct outreach fashion to young people in Lambeth. Qualitative research with Lambeth young people informed the approach and branding used for the project.

The project was delivered over three days on high streets and adjacent to a busy Underground station in Lambeth. There were four Brand Ambassadors present on all three days. In total, 402 IBA interventions were completed. Findings from the project indicated that alcohol IBA can be delivered by newly trained, non-health workers in a public environment, such as on a high street. Feedback from people who participated in the project was exceedingly positive and constructive; very little feedback of a negative nature and no complaints at all were received.