Support for a browser plug-in blocking online alcohol imagery among Australian participants: A qualitative interview study

Patsouras, Maree; Cook, Megan; Pennay, Amy; Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Manning, Victoria; He, Zhen; Riordan, Benjamin

doi:10.26181/27625863.v1

Support for a browser plug-in blocking online alcohol imagery among Australian participants: A qualitative interview study

journal contribution

posted on 2024-11-07, 00:33 authored by Maree PatsourasMaree Patsouras, Megan CookMegan Cook, Amy PennayAmy Pennay, Emmanuel KuntscheEmmanuel Kuntsche, Victoria Manning, Zhen HeZhen He, Benjamin RiordanBenjamin Riordan

Abstract:-

Issues Addressed: Alcohol depictions are extremely common online, and there is a reported relationship between alcohol exposure and alcohol use. A browser plug-in specifically designed to block online alcohol depictions may be helpful to prevent the uptake of alcohol or increased alcohol use.

Methods: Twenty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted, examining participants' beliefs about the effects of online alcohol exposure and their support for developing the browser plug-in. Results: Using reflexive thematic analysis, we found participants highlighted a clear impact of viewing alcohol online and offline alcohol use. Participants believed a browser plug-in that blocked alcohol was acceptable and would be especially useful for minors (to prevent alcohol initiation) and those who are aiming to reduce their alcohol use.

Conclusions: Participants emphasised that viewing online alcohol exposure had an impact on drinking behaviours, such as increased craving and temptation. The browser plug-in was considered an easy intervention tool for both parents and people who are experiencing alcohol-related problems or trying to reduce their drinking.

So What?: Participants' continuous support of an alcohol-blocking browser plug-in suggests that future health promotion strategies should consider the development of a prototype plug-in.

Funding

The study was funded by an Internal Grant from the School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, who had no role in the design, results, or final outcome. Maree Patsouras is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship via La Trobe University. Benjamin Riordan is supported by an Australian Early Career Research Award from the Australian Research Council (Discovery Early Career Researcher Award [Grant no. DE230100659]).

History

Publication Date

2024-10-01

Journal

Health Promotion Journal of Australia

Volume

35

Issue

4

Pagination

10p. (p. 1285-1294)

Publisher

Wiley

ISSN

1036-1073

Rights Statement

© 2024 The Authors. Health Promotion Journal of Australia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Health Promotion Association. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.