Clinical trial NCT04141839: Evaluation of the Safer Bars Prevention Program for Sexual Assault
Official title: Safer Bars: A Cluster-Randomized Effectiveness Evaluation of Alcohol-related Sexual Violence Prevention Through Bar Staff Bystander Training
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Sexual Assault Precursor Behavior
Lead sponsor: University of Arizona
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Arizona State University
name: Arizona Department of Health Services
First posted: 2019-10-28
Enrollment: 681
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 19
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Intervention model description: A cluster-randomized trial design with crossover to randomize participants at the bar level into intervention and delayed intervention arms.
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The goal is to evaluate at three sites the implementation of the Safer Bars sexual assault prevention program.

Detailed description: Sexual violence perpetration is robustly associated with social contexts that support high levels of alcohol consumption. Beginning in 2007, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) developed and field-tested the Safer Bars curriculum with support from the CDC Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) funding program. Safer Bars is a bystander prevention training for staff of alcohol serving establishments. This application proposes a theory-driven, quasi-experimental effectiveness evaluation based at The University of Arizona. Our approach is significant because few evaluations have measured behavioral outcomes as well as the mediators that explain the observed changes in bystander behavior, or community-level outcomes associated with such interventions. Specific Aims: the specific aims are to: (1) Test a hypothesized mediational model of individual-level behavioral outcomes based on the Theory of Planned Behavior; (2) assess the effect of the program on bar-level risk management safety policies; and (3) examine the community-level impact of the Safer Bars program on reducing the number of police dispatches in areas with high densities of alcohol-serving establishments. Methods: A cluster-randomized trial design with crossover to randomize participants at the bar level into intervention and delayed intervention arms is proposed. Assessments are at baseline, completion of training, and at three and six months post-training. The sample bars will be selected within a three-mile radius of the three major Arizona universities, all of which have a high density of alcohol-serving establishments adjacent to campus. Our analytical model will assess a hypothesized moderated mediational model based in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Outcomes of interest include: (a) the extent to which Behavioral Intent, the central construct of TPB, mediates bar staff performance of intended bystander behaviors at three-month follow-up and the extent to which this relationship is moderated by personal characteristics and bar environment; (b) the effects of the program on bar-level risk management patron safety policies; and, (c) the community-level effects as demonstrated by number of police dispatches in areas with a high density of alcohol-serving establishments at baseline and at the end of the project using GIS data. With evidence of efficacy, Safer Bars is feasible for scale-up without excessive financial burden in other states, which all receive RPE funding.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Both an employee and a liquor server, security official, or owner/manager of a bar randomly selected to receive Safer Bars training immediately or after an assessment only phase of 4 months and that has not participated in the Safe Bars training in the past 12 months. Accepts healthy volunteers as defined by holding active employment. Employees may opt out of training and/or assessment.

Exclusion Criteria:

* None. No liquor servers are allowed by law to be younger than 19 years old.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Number of Participants Who Reported Always Intervening Behavior at 6 Months
timeFrame: at baseline and up to 6 months
measure: Did Not Offer Promotions Aimed at Attracting Female Patrons Post-intervention
timeFrame: at baseline and up to 3 months
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Tucson
country: United States
facility: University of Arizona
state: Arizona
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Arizona
name: Mary P Koss, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Arizona State University
name: Kelly C Davis, MSW, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Davis KC, Koss MP, Lopez EC, Roberts K. Safer Bars: A cluster-randomized effectiveness evaluation of alcohol-related sexual violence prevention through bar staff bystander training. Contemp Clin Trials. 2024 May;140:107488. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2024.107488. Epub 2024 Mar 6.
citation: Roberts K, Davis KC, Koss MP, Lopez EC. Feasibility and Acceptability of a Bar-Staff Bystander Intervention Training Program for Reducing Sexual Aggression. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2025 Mar;86(2):238-245. doi: 10.15288/jsad.24-00031. Epub 2024 Oct 15.