Alcohol in the city: the HHH study

Alcohol urban environment and implementation of its regulatory policies in the city of Madrid

Harmful use of alcohol is one of the world’s leading health risks. Europe presents the highest per capita alcohol consumption levels in the world. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in how the social, urban and cultural environments contribute to shaping health outcomes and behavioral risk factors associated with health. Published literature suggests that we live in a pro-alcohol urban environment, which influences individual alcohol drinking behaviors and therefore can contribute to the normalization of alcohol drinking.

This is an ancillary study of the Heart Healthy Hoods project (HHH) (European Research Council Starting Grant 2013). Alcohol environment data will be collected throughout the municipality of Madrid, including its 21 districts and 128 neighborhoods. We will analyze secondary databases of alcohol outlets and sociodemographic characteristics of neighborhoods. In addition, we will conduct, in 42 neighborhoods, social systematic observation in order to describe alcohol urban environment in terms of availability, promotion and signs of consumption. We will use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyze the relationship between the physical and social alcohol environment with individual data obtained from HHH cohort study on alcohol drinking patterns behaviors. Finally, we will conduct a participatory-action research strategy (Photovoice) to better understand the attitudes and practices in relation to alcohol consumption from a cultural and social perspective.

Sponsoring agency: Delegación del Gobierno para el Plan Nacional sobre Drogas (2016I047). Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad

Start date: 01/01/2017
Finish date: 31/12/2019

Duration: 36 months