Crowdsourcing alcohol billboards in Kampala, Uganda: Examining alcohol advertisement violations

  • Monica Swahn, Ph.D. Kennesaw State University, Wellstar College of Health and Human Services
  • Alaina Whitton Georgia State University, School of Public Health
  • Rogers Kasirye Uganda Youth Development Link, Uganda
  • Katherine Robaina Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.439
Keywords: alcohol marketing, AMART, marketing, Uganda, Kampala, alcohol policy, crowdsourcing, advertisement

Abstract

Despite high levels of alcohol use in Uganda, there is a scarcity of research on alcohol marketing, its placement and content. In this field study we evaluated the content of alcohol billboards across Kampala, Uganda using the Alcohol Marketing Assessment Rating Tool (AMART). Of the 27 unique alcohol advertisements evaluated, the nine-member review panel found that 23 contained at least one violation yielding a violation rate of 85%. Given the high number of violations, our recommendation is that future alcohol billboard advertisements within Kampala be reviewed and approved by a governing body for compliance with alcohol advertisement standards.

Author Biography

Monica Swahn, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University, Wellstar College of Health and Human Services

Dr. Monica Swahn is a professor in the division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and a core faculty in the Partnership for Urban Health Research. Her main research areas pertain to health risk behaviors among adolescents and young adults, primarily focusing on the structural drivers of alcohol, violence and HIV/AIDS in the United States and globally. She is a Fulbright Scholar for the sub-Saharan HIV program and assigned to the School of Public Health at Makerere University, Uganda (2016-2018), to develop and implement an alcohol research center to serve Eastern Africa. She is also the Associate Director for Research for the Injury Prevention Research Center at Emory, a regional consortium of researchers and practitioners in injury prevention. Current research activities include examining the role of alcohol policies in homicide and suicide in the U.S., the structural drivers of sexual violence perpetration among freshmen in the state of Georgia, and the development of a social norms campaign to reduce and delay underage drinking and alcohol-related HIV transmissions among vulnerable youth in Uganda.

Published
2024-08-11
How to Cite
Swahn, Ph.D., M., Whitton, A., Kasirye, R., & Robaina, K. (2024). Crowdsourcing alcohol billboards in Kampala, Uganda: Examining alcohol advertisement violations. International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research, 12(S2), S97–S102. https://doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.439
Issue
Vol. 12 No. S2 (2024): Special Issue Part 2: Alcohol prevention, research, and policy development in LMICs
Section
Special Issue: Alcohol Prevention Research and Policy Development in LMICs

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