Diamond Dialogue: A Tool to Explore Alcohol-related Harm and Strengthen Community Action

Authors

  • Wendy Shoesmith Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
  • Sandi James Resort 12 The Cabin Addiction Treatment Group Chiang Mai http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6454-1533
  • Helen Benedict Lasimbang Department of Reproductive Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
  • Edna Salumbi MERCY Malaysia Sabah Chapter
  • Elizabeth Eckermann Health Sociology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong 3217, Victoria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51200/bjms.v12i2.912

Keywords:

Community intervention, alcohol harm, Diamond Dialogue, alcohol harm reduction, empowering community, community level change

Abstract

The Diamond Dialogue has previously been used as a research tool, as a way of evaluating the effectiveness of development of interventions in changing quality of life in a variety of contexts. This paper aims to describe the development of the Diamond Dialogue as a community intervention tool to reduce alcohol-related harm. This was part of an action research study. Focus groups, using the Diamond Dialogue, were conducted during workshops to reduce alcohol-related harm in two different villages. The Diamond Dialogue was initially used as a tool to better understand how drinking was affecting their quality of life. The Diamond Dialogue was intentionally used as part of the intervention in one village, with the discussion on alcohol and quality of life leading into discussion on community level change to reduce alcohol-related harm. The discussion notes were analysed for themes related to quality of life and alcohol use. Alcohol was seen by community members to have both positive and negative effects on the community. Using the Diamond Dialogue as an intervention lead to greater levels of engagement, created a collective motivation to change and led to community level action planning. Exploring community ambivalence towards alcohol, acceptance of both the positive and negative effects and validation of the community’s views provided a platform for engagement. This then lead to “change talk†about adopting low-risk drinking and ownership of possible solutions for alcohol related problems.

Author Biography

Sandi James, Resort 12 The Cabin Addiction Treatment Group Chiang Mai

Principal Clinician Resort 12

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Published

2018-06-22

How to Cite

Shoesmith, W., James, S., Lasimbang, H. B., Salumbi, E., & Eckermann, E. (2018). Diamond Dialogue: A Tool to Explore Alcohol-related Harm and Strengthen Community Action. Borneo Journal of Medical Sciences (BJMS), 12(2), 19. https://doi.org/10.51200/bjms.v12i2.912
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