Reaching the Hard-to-Reach: A Probability Sampling Method for Assessing Prevalence of Driving under the Influence after Drinking in Alcohol Outlets

Drinking alcoholic beverages in places such as bars and clubs may be associated with harmful consequences such as violence and impaired driving. However, methods for obtaining probabilistic samples of drivers who drink at these places remain a challenge – since there is no a priori information on this mobile population – and must be continually improved. This paper describes the procedures adopted in the selection of a population-based sample of drivers who drank at alcohol selling outlets in Porto Alegre, Brazil, which we used to estimate the prevalence of intention to drive under the influence of alcohol. The sampling strategy comprises a stratified three-stage cluster sampling: 1) census enumeration areas (CEA) were stratified by alcohol outlets (AO) density and sampled with probability proportional to the number of AOs in each CEA; 2) combinations of outlets and shifts (COS) were stratified by prevalence of alcohol-related traffic crashes and sampled with probability proportional to their squared duration in hours; and, 3) drivers who drank at the selected COS were stratified by their intention to drive and sampled using inverse sampling. Sample weights were calibrated using a post-stratification estimator. 3,118 individuals were approached and 683 drivers interviewed, leading to an estimate that 56.3% (SE = 3,5%) of the drivers intended to drive after drinking in less than one hour after the interview. Prevalence was also estimated by sex and broad age groups. The combined use of stratification and inverse sampling enabled a good trade-off between resource and time allocation, while preserving the ability to generalize the findings. The current strategy can be viewed as a step forward in the efforts to improve surveys and estimation for hard-to-reach, mobile populations.

[1]  Stanley W. Borg Social Networks and Health: Models, Methods, and Applications , 2012 .

[2]  R. D. De Boni,et al.  Factors associated with alcohol and drug use among traffic crash victims in southern Brazil. , 2011, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[3]  Vilma Leyton,et al.  Alcohol-related traffic accidents with fatal outcomes in the city of Sao Paulo. , 2011, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[4]  F. Pechansky,et al.  Ethical, legal and social issues related to alcohol and drug research , 2011, Current opinion in psychiatry.

[5]  Francisco Alonso,et al.  A European study on alcohol and drug use among young drivers: the TEND by Night study design and methodology , 2010, BMC public health.

[6]  M. Bellis,et al.  Cross-sectional measures and modelled estimates of blood alcohol levels in UK nightlife and their relationships with drinking behaviours and observed signs of inebriation , 2010, Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy.

[7]  Matthew J. Salganik,et al.  Assessing respondent-driven sampling , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[8]  Paul J Gruenewald,et al.  Drinking, driving, and crashing: a traffic-flow model of alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents. , 2010, Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs.

[9]  Thomas Lumley,et al.  Complex Surveys: A Guide to Analysis Using R , 2010 .

[10]  Harold D. Holder,et al.  Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity: Research and Public Policy , 2010 .

[11]  J. Parsons,et al.  Patterns of Alcohol Consumption and Sexual Behavior among Young Adults in Nightclubs , 2010, The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse.

[12]  Jennifer Cook Middleton,et al.  The effectiveness of limiting alcohol outlet density as a means of reducing excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms. , 2009, American journal of preventive medicine.

[13]  Fernando Mendes,et al.  Consumo de drogas, alcohol y conductas sexuales en los ambientes recreativos nocturnos de Portugal , 2009 .

[14]  R. Laranjeira,et al.  Alcohol use patterns among Brazilian adults. , 2009, Revista brasileira de psiquiatria.

[15]  Svetlana Popova,et al.  Hours and days of sale and density of alcohol outlets: impacts on alcohol consumption and damage: a systematic review. , 2009, Alcohol and alcoholism.

[16]  R. Laranjeira,et al.  Highly reported prevalence of drinking and driving in Brazil: data from the first representative household study. , 2009, Revista brasileira de psiquiatria.

[17]  Amador Calafat,et al.  Traffic Risk Behaviors at Nightlife: Drinking, Taking Drugs, Driving, and Use of Public Transport by Young People , 2009, Traffic injury prevention.

[18]  R. Sturm,et al.  Alcohol environments and disparities in exposure associated with adolescent drinking in California. , 2009, American journal of public health.

[19]  R. Voas,et al.  Environmental strategies for prevention of drug use and risks in clubs , 2009, Journal of substance use.

[20]  A. Team,et al.  AUDIT(Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test)を用いた自己スクリーニングとセルフ教材が勤労男性の問題飲酒に及ぼす影響 , 2017 .

[21]  J. Parsons,et al.  Comparing the Effectiveness of Two Forms of Time-Space Sampling to Identify Club Drug-Using Young Adults , 2008, Journal of drug issues.

[22]  R. D. De Boni,et al.  Young people's blood alcohol concentration and the alcohol consumption city law, Brazil. , 2008, Revista de saude publica.

[23]  P. L. Tauil,et al.  Alcoolemia em vítimas fatais de acidentes de trânsito no Distrito Federal, Brasil , 2008 .

[24]  Ronaldo Laranjeira,et al.  Prevalência do beber e dirigir em Diadema, estado de São Paulo , 2007 .

[25]  Tanya Chikritzhs,et al.  Changing the density of alcohol outlets to reduce alcohol-related problems. , 2007, Drug and alcohol review.

[26]  R. Voas,et al.  Drug and alcohol-impaired driving among electronic music dance event attendees. , 2006, Drug and alcohol dependence.

[27]  S. Berg Snowball Sampling—I , 2006 .

[28]  B. Grant,et al.  The prevalence of drinking and driving in the United States, 2001-2002: results from the national epidemiological survey on alcohol and related conditions. , 2006, Drug and alcohol dependence.

[29]  R. Laranjeira,et al.  A 'perfect storm' in developing countries: economic growth and the alcohol industry. , 2006, Addiction.

[30]  Mark B Johnson,et al.  Portal Surveys of Time-Out Drinking Locations , 2006, Evaluation review.

[31]  S. Kerrigan,et al.  Evaluation of a portable evidential breath alcohol analyzer. , 2005, Forensic science international.

[32]  Jaymie R Meliker,et al.  Spatial analysis of alcohol-related motor vehicle crash injuries in southeastern Michigan. , 2004, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[33]  Scott E. Martin,et al.  Alcohol availability as a predictor of youth drinking and driving: a hierarchical analysis of survey and archival data. , 2003, Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research.

[34]  Linda M Collins,et al.  Adaptive sampling in research on risk-related behaviors. , 2002, Drug and alcohol dependence.

[35]  R. Laranjeira,et al.  Evaluation of alcohol outlet density and its relation with violence. , 2002, Revista de saude publica.

[36]  P. Gruenewald,et al.  Outlets, drinking and driving: a multilevel analysis of availability. , 2002, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[37]  Randy W. Elder,et al.  Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving. , 2001, American journal of preventive medicine.

[38]  L. O'donnell,et al.  Time-space sampling in minority communities: results with young Latino men who have sex with men. , 2001, American journal of public health.

[39]  Lillian S. Lin,et al.  A Venue-Based Method for Sampling Hard-to-Reach Populations , 2001, Public health reports.

[40]  T. Babor,et al.  A review of research on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). , 1997, Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research.

[41]  Carl-Erik Särndal,et al.  Model Assisted Survey Sampling , 1997 .

[42]  Douglas D. Heckathorn,et al.  Respondent-driven sampling : A new approach to the study of hidden populations , 1997 .

[43]  D. Mackinnon,et al.  Alcohol outlet density and motor vehicle crashes in Los Angeles County cities. , 1994, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[44]  H. Garretsen,et al.  The geographic relationship between alcohol use, bars, liquor shops and traffic injuries in Rotterdam. , 1993, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[45]  S Sudman,et al.  Sampling Rare and Elusive Populations , 1988, Science.

[46]  R. Nowak,et al.  Accuracy and usefulness of a breath alcohol analyzer. , 1984, Annals of emergency medicine.

[47]  J. Haldane,et al.  On a method of estimating frequencies. , 1945, Biometrika.

[48]  F. Mendes,et al.  Drugs and alcohol consumption and sexual behaviours in night recreational settings in Portugal. , 2009, Adicciones.

[49]  R. Pratesi,et al.  Alcoolemia em vítimas fatais de acidentes de trânsito no Distrito Federal, Brasil Blood alcohol concentration in fatal traffi c accidents in the Federal District, Brazil , 2008 .

[50]  Robert Klein,et al.  Drinking and driving: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners. , 2007 .

[51]  Ralph Hingson,et al.  Epidemiology and Consequences of Drinking and Driving , 2003, Alcohol research & health : the journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

[52]  P. Gruenewald,et al.  Evaluating the Alcohol Environment: Community Geography and Alcohol Problems , 2002, Alcohol research & health : the journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

[53]  P. Zador,et al.  Alcohol-related relative risk of driver fatalities and driver involvement in fatal crashes in relation to driver age and gender: an update using 1996 data. , 2000, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[54]  A. Winsor Sampling techniques. , 2000, Nursing times.

[55]  R. Janssen,et al.  The Young Men's Survey: methods for estimating HIV seroprevalence and risk factors among young men who have sex with men. , 1996, Public health reports.

[56]  I. Colón The influence of state monopoly of alcohol distribution and the frequency of package stores on single motor vehicle fatalities. , 1982, The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse.

[57]  Global status report on alcohol and health , 2022 .