A survey on people’s attitudes and behaviour in relation to alcohol use is being spearheaded in a bid to get specific data on the issue in the city.
Face-to-face interviews for the study will take place over the next two weeks and are being undertaken as part of the Galway City Alcohol Strategy, a Galway Healthy Cities Alcohol Forum initiative.
At a national level, the recent Healthy Ireland Survey (September 2015 ) reaffirmed that drinking is a core part of Irish life, but more worryingly that drinking to excess on a regular basis is also commonplace throughout the population.
Four out of 10 drinkers in Ireland drink to harmful levels on a monthly basis, with over a fifth doing so on a weekly basis. This behaviour is evident throughout the population and is not specifically limited to particular groups.
A spokesperson for the Galway Healthy Cities Alcohol Forum says it recognises the importance of getting Galway city specific data on behaviours, attitudes and awareness in relation to alcohol use.
“To achieve this, the forum has commissioned research which will take the form of a public survey on alcohol behaviours, attitudes and awareness. The survey, which takes less than 10 minutes to complete, is designed so that it can be repeated in the future to assess any changes over time.”
Evelyn Fanning, of the HSE West’s Health Promotion and Improvement department, who is Chair of the Alcohol Forum, says it is vital to get a local perspective on alcohol behaviour and attitudes.
“This will help inform the direction of our actions in preventing and reducing alcohol-related harm in Galway city. We would be very grateful for peoples’ cooperation in taking part in the survey to ensure we get a complete picture to help the Alcohol Forum plan and focus their work in the future.”
The results of the survey will be made available to the all agencies, groups and the public before the end of the year.
