| Methods |
Randomised controlled trial, using matched pairs (control:intervention). |
| Participants |
Licensed and unlicensed alcohol serving establishments in Cape Town, South Africa |
| Interventions |
Server training. Course of 5‐6 hour duration provided free.
Control group received the same intervention 4 months later. |
| Outcomes |
1. knowledge, attitudes of servers based on questionnaire (measured post‐intervention only)
2. behaviour of servers when research assistants portrayed specific drinking situations
3. BAC levels of patrons. |
| Notes |
1. Published study contains no data.
2. Only mean scores for each group are provided.
3. Data presented as numbers falling within each of three BAC categories ‐ no actual values provided. Table in which this data is provided contains arithmetical errors.
Attempts to obtain data from the authors have been unsuccessful. |
| Risk of bias |
| Bias |
Authors' judgement |
Support for judgement |
| Adequate sequence generation? |
Unclear risk |
20 establishments known to brewery companies were chosen 'by a random sampling procedure'. No details given. Based on their characteristics, they were placed into matched pairs. One from each pair was 'randomly selected' (no details) to be in the intervention group and the other was a control. |
| Allocation concealment? |
Unclear risk |
No information provided. |
| Blinding?
All outcomes |
Unclear risk |
Research assistants were not told which responses belonged to the experimental or the comparison group. |
| Confounders |
Unclear risk |
Paired establishments stated to have been matched by type, size and licensed/unlicensed. |
| Data collection methods |
Unclear risk |
1. (Knowledge and attitudes of servers): questionnaire administered to 14 servers in 7 experimental establishments only.
2. (Server behaviour): research assistants assessed servers behaviour in specified situations.
3. (BAC): levels were measured in 148 patrons of experimental establishments and 161 controls. |
| Withdrawals & dropouts |
Unclear risk |
Report states that 3 experimental establishments closed. No information given on any closures of control establishments. |
| Intervention integrity |
Low risk |
All serving staff in the experimental establishments were trained. |
| Duration of follow‐up |
Unclear risk |
3 months. |
