Since 2016, Dr. John Foster has been collaborating with the Royal Borough of Greenwich Public Health department to assist in incorporating his research into at-risk drinking to the borough’s Alcohol Strategy and applying it to mitigation approaches.
A primary focus of the research has been the ‘invisible’ problem of at-risk home drinking, as well as groups and situations where the detrimental nature of drinking behaviour is at its highest, but often missed through current systems. Currently, the borough is well above the national benchmark for hospital admissions for conditions such as hypertension, certain cancers and alcohol related falls, which are associated with such at-risk drinking.
His contribution to policy has been augmented with work on approaches to intervention in the community, with aspects of at-risk drinking being integrated into a number of assessment protocols and data collection tools. Via the design of educational materials, it is also feeding into borough’s Healthy Business Network, an initiative aimed at promoting health among the workforce of Greenwich businesses, a key aim of which is the promotion of sensible drinking.
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