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Study Information Sheet

Project Title Last Drinks – Pre-loading, End-loading, and Drinking Across the night.
 

Participation is Voluntary

If you are reading this information sheet, then chances are that you were invited to take part in this research project.  Please read this Participation Information carefully.  Feel free to ask any questions about any information in the document via email to research@last-drinks.com.au

Participation in this research project was and is voluntary.  If you do not wish to take part you are not obliged to do so.  If you decide to take part and later change your mind, you are free to withdraw from the project at any stage and have any data obtained from you removed from our records.  As this research is completely anonymous, we can only remove your data if you email us with your participant ID (on the back of the business card we would have given you) and the day and approximate time we interviewed you.

Purpose and Background

            We are conducting this research to investigate the occurrence of preloading, end loading, drinking across the night, and subsequent impairment/hangovers due to the consumption of drugs and alcohol. We also assessing the impact of previous serious life events on inebriation levels (from alcohol and other drugs). As this study has several areas of interest, their investigation has been spread across three phases of the research (see below).

            Preloading is defined as drinking, or taking illicit drugs, before entering licensed night-time entertainment venues. Currently there is research to suggest that by participating in preloading activities, including mixing energy drinks with alcohol, people are more susceptible to physical, psychological, and emotional harm as their night-out progresses. Research indicates that people suffer greater physical injuries, take more risks, suffer more black-outs, and overall report more negative consequences than if they hadn’t preloaded. The main reasons espoused for these increased negative consequences are the high blood alcohol content (BAC) of people as they continue to drink throughout the night. However, people drink before they go out for a variety of reasons and we wish to look into these reasons and also test whether people who preload really do have more problems as a result.

            End loading (also referred to as back-loading) as defined in this research is the consumption of alcohol or taking of drugs after leaving licensed night-time entertainment venues. Much less is known about this practice in published research, with the only research available suggesting that it is perhaps a less common practice than pre-loading. Further, whilst alcohol use across the night has been investigated (i.e. assessing peoples BAC as they enter and leave popular entertainment venues), it has only been investigated in a cross-sectional manner. As such we would like to investigate people’s substance use across an evening, for instance to account of individual differences and other possible confounds.  

            The published research that has been carried out on these topics so far, however, has only been conducted in the USA and UK. As their licensing and night-time entertainment practices differ somewhat from entertainment districts in Australia, it is important to establish whether the effects found in those studies hold true in Queensland. By gathering this information we will be able to enhance awareness surrounding the issues raised above and implement changes in policy regarding alcohol sales and guidelines and policing of entertainment areas. In this study we also aim to increase personal safety and create stronger community bonds with the police who patrol the city centres. To this end we will also be asking about risky or antisocial behaviours you have experienced or witnessed and whether police were available. We will also be asking about your body mass index (height and weight), body image and also courting practices.

Phase 1:                                                            

            Phase 1 of this research will aim to query individuals as they enter popular night entertainment districts (e.g. The Valley, The City, West End). Individuals will be asked to complete a short questionnaire on a tablet (probing various constructs such as demographics, intended alcohol and substance use, intentions for the night, etc) before completing a voluntary breathalyser assessment. After completing this brief interaction, some participants will be invited to return to the researchers later that evening when they plan to leave the entertainment districts and take part in phase two.

Phase 2:

            Phase two will aim to assess similar constructs as individuals leave the entertainment districts. Some questions at this stage of the study will be retrospective, and query behaviours for the evening (e.g., how many standard drinks did you consume, how many clubs/pubs did you visit) and others will be future orientated (e.g., what suburb are you heading towards now, do you intend to consume any more alcohol or drugs). It is anticipated that some individuals who were assessed at Phase 1 will also take part in this stage of the research, and as such provide a measurement of pre- and post-alcohol and substance use. Participants who do complete both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the research will be offered a $15 taxi voucher to compensate for their contributions to this key area of research. During Phase 2 the researchers will have a Police escort for their safety. However, you should note that the Police are there due to the risk of violence in the Entertainment District very late at night. The information you give is still anonymous and confidential.

For both Phase 1 and Phase 2: We will also collect some people's tubes and study information card (but not their ID card) and later test these for drug residue. Some people will be asked to undergo an ion scan for drug residue and to provide saliva for drug testing. This will mean that we can assess the likely level of intoxication by drugs in the entertainment districts. We will give you the results of these tests if you would like. The details will be tied to the ID number that the participant has been given, but is not tied to any personally identifying information. As with the questionnaire data, all participants can request that this data is destroyed, should they prefer. All saliva samples will be burned within 6 months of being provided.

Phase 3:

            Phase three will be looking at individual impairment and hangovers. Participants will be explicitly asked if they would like to take part in this final stage of research. In the first part of this Phase (3a) we will ask participants to complete a very brief (less than 3 minutes) assessment of cognitive functioning. This assessment is designed to be somewhat enjoyable, and will ask participants to track a maze on a tablet, count back from 100 in 7s and ignore irrelevant stimuli whilst reading out words.

Those who take part in Phase 3a will also be invited to complete a brief online questionnaire the following morning regarding hangover symptoms (Phase 3b). We may also have an online cognitive test available at this time (< 3 minutes long). These participants will receive a $15 voucher to compensate for their efforts and time. We will obtain phone numbers for people who elect to take part in 3b but will not tie them in any way to the data you have provided and these numbers will be destroyed 24 hours later. The $15 voucher will be emailed to any email address you wish to give us at the end of the survey (again, not identifying any person and allowing us to delete these emails at the end of the research).

            This research will be eventually written-up for a project report and for a published article and may also form the basis of a student’s postgraduate thesis (e.g., Honours, Masters, or PhD thesis).

Possible Benefits

We hope the knowledge gained from this study will assist in reducing harm and the provision of better facilities for people attending entertainment precincts, and the development of more effective and community responsive policing practices. However, we do not envisage any personal benefits you may experience yourself, over and above having the experience of being a research participant and being told your Blood Alcohol Concentration level.

Possible Risks

This research is completely anonymous and we do not foresee any personal risks attached to taking part. However, some of the questions are personal in nature and some people may find them distressing. These include questions which cover sexual practices while in and outside of town, history of major life experiences and psychological reactions experienced as a result, sexual harassment or assault that has been experienced, and sexual preferences (including racial and gender preferences).

Privacy, Confidentiality and Disclosure of Information

All participants will be identified only by a research number so that you can withdraw consent at a later date and so we can link your answers across the night. All questionnaires will be kept on a locked computer at Griffith University or held on a secure Canadian server – both in an anonymous fashion (as we took no identifying information from you). 

Phase 3b participants will have a phone number taken to remind them to complete the hangover questionnaires, but these numbers will not be attached to any research number and will be destroyed 24 hours later (you will only receive 2 texts the next day to remind you to complete the survey – after the second text your number will be destroyed).

Further Information or Any Problems

If any of the material in the questionnaires or the alcohol or drug testing raised any issues of concern for you, you are welcome to discuss them with the researchers. Likewise, if you require further information or have questions about the project, feel free to contact us via research@last-drinks.com.au.

Griffith University conducts research in accordance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research.  If participants have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the research project, they should contact the Manager, Research Ethics on 07 3735 4375 or email at research-ethics@griffith.edu.au

Contact Numbers for Assistance (should you require any):

• Queensland Health's Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) 24 hour Information Service: 1800 177 833; http://www.health.qld.gov.au/atod/
• Lifeline: 13 11 14
• Australian Psychological Society (for referral): 1800 333 49
• Metro North Sexual Health and HIV Service (270 Roma Street, Brisbane City; 3837 5611)

Research Updates!

20/05/21 - Ethics variations approved

30/03/21 - Introduction of trauma measures - application

20/05/19 - Participant Information Sheet amended

15/05/19 - Sexual practice and racial preference questions approved

09/10/18 - More exhaustive drug testing approved

23/06/16 - Mackay data collection.

16/06/16 - Gold Coast data collection.

15/06/16 - Ion Scanning ethically cleared and introduced.

31/10/15 - Data collection begins.

07/10/15 - Ethical amendments completed and submitted.

30/09/15 - Ethics approval obtained pending minor amendments.

03/09/15 - Ethics submitted.

31/08/15 - Website goes into test mode.

28/08/15 - Study parameters are 'locked-in'.

05/05/15 - Research is funded by the National Drug Strategy Law Enforcement Funding Committee.

05/03/15 - Application for funding is submitted.