The effects of a community based alcohol education program in rural Sri Lankan villages on alcohol use, social dynamics and mental health outcomes

A stepped wedge trial of the scaling up of a community-based alcohol education program in rural Sri Lankan villages and its effects on alcohol use, and associated harms, depression and social capital.

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Phase 2

Study type

Interventional

Source

SLCTR

Registry ID

SLCTR/2018/037

Enrollment

Unknown

Registered

2018-11-12

Start date

2018-12-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-08-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Alcohol misuse

Interventions

All adults over 18 years living in 20 “at risk” villages (defined as being in the highest tertile of villages with problematic drinking patterns from previous surveys) in the North Central Province

Eligibility

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Cluster inclusion criteria: • Village identified with harmful drinking or conflicts related to alcohol Participant inclusion criteria: • Be a permanent resident of the village • Be aged 18 and over

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: • Children (persons under 18 years of age) • Cognitively impaired people

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
To determine whether the intervention sustainably reduces alcohol use in males in at risk Sri Lankan villages using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire. [Baseline, Pre-intervention, 6 months and 24 months after the intervention is delivered]	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
The level of depression as measured by patient health questionnaire -9 [Baseline, Pre-intervention, 6 months and 24 months after the intervention is delivered] Hospital Records: Alcohol associated injury; Deliberate Self-harm, Road accidents, hospital presentations with domestic and interpersonal violence, Sexual assault, alcohol withdrawal [ Baseline, Pre-intervention, 6 months and 24 months after the intervention is delivered] Police records; Public drunkenness, Suicide, Road accidents, Domestic and interpersonal violence, Sexual assault [ Baseline, Pre-intervention, 6 months and 24 months after the intervention is delivered] Child growth outcomes by linking routine data of repeated measures of children’s height and weight which is collected by provincial [ Baseline, Pre-intervention, 6 months and 24 months after the intervention is delivered]	—

Measure

Time frame

The level of depression as measured by patient health questionnaire -9 [Baseline, Pre-intervention, 6 months and 24 months after the intervention is delivered] Hospital Records: Alcohol associated injury; Deliberate Self-harm, Road accidents, hospital presentations with domestic and interpersonal violence, Sexual assault, alcohol withdrawal [ Baseline, Pre-intervention, 6 months and 24 months after the intervention is delivered] Police records; Public drunkenness, Suicide, Road accidents, Domestic and interpersonal violence, Sexual assault [ Baseline, Pre-intervention, 6 months and 24 months after the intervention is delivered] Child growth outcomes by linking routine data of repeated measures of children’s height and weight which is collected by provincial [ Baseline, Pre-intervention, 6 months and 24 months after the intervention is delivered]

—

Countries

Sri Lanka

Contacts

Public ContactProf. Andrew Dawson

Clinical Professor of Medicine

Andrew.Dawson@sydney.edu.auTel: +61 2 9351 6131

Outcome results

None listed

Source: SLCTR (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Aug 9, 2026