What we found

Who took part? 

Women aged 40-65 took part in our research. There was a survey of 310 women and one man, focus groups with 33 women and workshops with 12 women. 

What did we find out about raising awareness?

In the research we identified three main groups of people who preferred different types of messages to raise awareness.

First we identified 'hard hitters'. These people preferred graphic images and shocking messages.

Secondly, we identified 'storytellers'. They liked to hear about health information by understanding someone’s personal experience. 

Thirdly, we identified a group of 'doubters'.  They were people who were skeptical about health campaigns, and believed that getting cancer is generally down to luck, and that health campaigns blame people for their cancer.

Not everyone fits neatly into a group, of course.

We have made some images based on these three groups. You can tell us what you think about them here.

What did we find out about helping women who would like to drink less?

Our study participants rated a range of tools and strategies for drinking less.

The most popular strategies were:

Substituting alcohol products for no-alcohol products.

Setting goals and celebrating successes.

Thinking about personal strengths and values that do not include alcohol consumption. 

Again, participants also wanted to hear personal stories from people who had experience of drinking less.  Check out the stories here and other resources here.