INEBRIA conference brings international recognition to ‘IBA Direct’
A project originally developed by our sister company Resonant, to change drinking behaviour in twenty-somethings, has been presented at INEBRIA 2016 in Lausanne, Switzerland – a major international conference on best practice around alcohol harm reduction.
The project was commissioned by NHS Lambeth CCG and Lambeth Council, who wanted to understand why younger people were drinking at hazardous levels and explore ways of changing their behaviours. Following in-depth qualitative research, Resonant ran a co-creation workshop with twenty-somethings and commissioners.
John Isitt, Founding Director of Partners in Creation, explained why the session was so powerful. “We got them to co-invent a way to take Identification and Brief Advice (IBA) out to their peers. They created a blueprint for a technique of IBA now known as ‘IBA Direct’, which managed to reach out and engage people on the streets of Lambeth.”
IBA Direct was repeated in the London Borough of Merton, where it was equally well received by a much older population.
The Health Innovation Network (HIN) independently evaluated both the Lambeth and Merton trials.
The paper was presented by Rod Watson from the HIN and James Morris from the Alcohol Academy, representing NHS Lambeth CCG.
London South Bank University has since bid to receive funding from the HIN to test the ‘IBA Direct’ concept in a university setting.
