Alcohol Control in Local Community: a Case Study of the Project on Alcohol-Free Funeral and Traditional Ceremonies

Abstract

The law enforcement to alcohol control in community was found to be unpractical when compared to social intervention, particularly when implemented as alcohol-free funeral and traditional ceremonies. This study was aimed to explored the context and process of alcohol control in the communities success-fully implementing the alcohol-free funeral and traditional ceremony projects. The study units were 5 local administrative organizations in areas under the responsibility of the National Health Security Office (NHSO) region 10 th , Ubon Ratchathani. The study tool was a semi-structure questionnaire. Data was collected during May – October 2016 through group and individual interviews; and analyzed by content analysis. It was found that the success of the alcohol-free projects depended on two aspects: (1) an example of alcohol-free funeral ceremony which demonstrated significant reduction of expenses and debt resulting in remaining money for the host; and it was found to be suitable for the context of rural community; (2) formulation and enforcement of district policy to control and monitor alcohol consumption implemented with the cooperation of religion institutes, the police, community leaders, and network or organizations within the community, followed by the use of role models; and the approach was found to be appropriat for urban and semi-urban context. The social enforcement processes were gradually ingrained in the community’s way of life through the role models of community leaders, district alcohol control policy, and community participation. Such development processes were found to be the main factor leading to successful and sustainable alcohol control in the communities.