An evaluation of an alcohol and other drugs and psychological well-being intervention targeting young construction industry workers

Introduction and Aims:Young workers employed in the construc-tion industry are at risk of alcohol and other drugs (AOD)-relatedharm and poor psychological wellbeing. An evaluation of a brief well-being intervention, with demonstrated effectiveness in reducing riskamong young hospitality industry workers, was undertaken.Design and Methods:One hundred and sixty-ninefirst yearapprentices enrolled in construction trade courses at SouthAustralian TAFE colleges were recruited for the study and assignedto either the intervention (n=97) or control group (n=72). Baseline(T1) data were compared with 4-6 month post-intervention follow-up data (T2) to evaluate intervention effectiveness.Results:Participants had high Alcohol Use Disorders IdentificationTest–Consumption scores (M=5.5, SD=3.0) with 72.2% reporting ascore indicative of problem drinking. 24.9% had used cannabis and3.6% had used meth/amphetamine in the past month. 24.8% reportedmoderate/high levels of job stress, 15.4% reported high levels of psycho-logical distress and 11.8% reported high levels of workplace bullying.Job stress and bullying were significantly associated with psychologicaldistress(r=.57,P<0.0001 andr=0.48,P<0.0001 respectively) andmeth/amphetamine use (r=.17,P=0.026 andr=0.17,P=0.025 respec-tively). There were no significant between group T2 differences inAOD or wellbeing measures. However, for the total sample, there wasasignificant T1-T2 decrease in self-rated health (z=7.6,P<0.001) andasignificant T1-T2 increase in job stress (t=3.6,P<0.001), absentee-ism (z=2.0,P=0.05) and presenteeism (z=2.7,P=0.006).Conclusions:While results confirmed construction apprenticeswere a high risk group, the intervention did not reduce risk. Thismay be due to the intervention not being specifically designed toaddress issues directly relevant to construction industry apprentices.Implications for Practice or Policy:Results confirmed construc-tion apprentices were a high-risk group for AOD-related harm andpoor psychological wellbeing. Thefinding that physical and psycho-logical wellbeing decreased over time, and that wellbeing indicatorswere associated with AOD use indicates effective wellbeing interven-tions are imperative.Disclosure of Interest Statement:This study was funded by aSafework SA research grant. There are no other relevant disclosuresof interest.