Local alcohol availability and community harms
Official title: Community Alcohol Sales and Related Problems: Filling the Critical Research Gap
Funded at Pacific Institute for Res and Evaluation · NIH-11243521 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how the number and features of nearby alcohol sellers relate to alcohol sales and harms in communities.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Pacific Institute for Res and Evaluation NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Beltsville, United States) |
| Project start | September 29, 1983 |
| Project end | November 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $252,704 |
| NIH project number | 5P60AA006282-44 |
| Project ID | NIH-11243521 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Residents, local health officials, or community organizations in U.S. neighborhoods—especially those with many alcohol retailers—are the most relevant groups to contribute local sales or harm data.
✕Less likely to help
People living in areas with few or no retail alcohol outlets or whose alcohol harms primarily occur in private, non-retail settings may not benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
Researchers will gather local alcohol sales records and map retail outlets to compare neighborhoods with different numbers and types of alcohol sellers. They will link local sales data to measures of alcohol-related problems (like injuries, assaults, or crashes) while separating sales effects from other outlet-related activities such as crowding or drink specials. The team will use community-level analyses to pinpoint which outlet characteristics drive sales versus which drive harms. Results are intended to help communities choose local policies that reduce alcohol-related problems without relying only on statewide data.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help local policymakers change outlet rules and reduce alcohol-related injuries, crashes, and other harms in communities.
How similar studies have gone: State-level studies have linked greater alcohol availability to more problems, but using detailed local sales data to separate sales effects from other outlet-related risks is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Pacific Institute for Res and Evaluation
Beltsville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gruenewald, Paul J — Pacific Institute for Res and Evaluation
- Study coordinator: Gruenewald, Paul J
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.