WayToServe Español: Online Responsible Beverage Service Training for Spanish-Speaking Servers

Among the measures against drunk driving available to policy makers and prevention
practitioners, Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) training has shown promise. In these
programs, alcohol servers are educated in a number of techniques, including correct
identification checking, recognizing signs of intoxication in patrons, and managing patrons
via drink counting techniques to safely keep them under Driving While Intoxicated blood
alcohol limits. Recent reviews of RBS programs have found evidence for effectiveness.
However, the diffusion of RBS training and practices has been limited: 18 U.S. states require
some form of RBS training, another 18 incentivize training in some way, and the other 14
states have no RBS regulations at all. As a result, while RBS training may be widely
available, it is not widely adopted. An overlooked limitation of all RBS training in the
U.S., and a limit to its dissemination, is that it is only offered in English and from a
mainstream U.S. culture point of view. Proposed here is the development and testing of a
Spanish-language version of an evidence-based online RBS training program (WayToServe®) that
will be culturally tailored to Hispanic cultural values, experiences, and circumstances:
WayToServe Español. The systematic development of WayToServe Español will meet the training
needs of an underserved and growing population segment of alcohol servers and sellers -
Hispanics who are predominant speakers of Spanish and who often work in premises with many
predominantly Spanish-speaking patrons. The proposed Direct-to-Phase II research will be
accomplished in two phases. The first phase will entail the iterative and systematic
development of WayToServe Español via Spanish-language focus groups and usability testing.
The second phase will involve the evaluation of WayToServe Español in Spanish-dominant
premises in New Mexico and West Texas via a randomized efficacy trial that randomly assigns
premises to either receive WayToServe Español training or Usual and Customary (UC) RBS
training. A variety of alcohol service refusal rates will be the primary outcome variable,
measured using a pseudo-intoxicated Pseudo-Patron (PP) buyer assessment protocol. Premises
will be assessed at baseline, post-training, and 9-month follow up intervals. Should
WayToServe Español prove effective, commercialization plans include efforts similar to those
for WayToServe® (English), now available in four states (New Mexico, Texas, California,
Washington, and under review for approval in Oregon) and having trained nearly 29,000 alcohol
servers and sellers. Overall, the project will bolster efforts to diffuse an effective RBS
training to underserved Spanish-speaking alcohol servers and sellers, benefitting both them
directly and the communities in which they live. WayToServe Español will be the first
culturally- and linguistically-appropriate evidence-based RBS training available online in
the U.S. for this underserved population.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Speak Spanish Primarily or bilingual in Spanish and English

- Serve alcohol in a Spanish-dominant premise in New Mexico or West Texas

- Age 18 or older

Exclusion Criteria:

- Have a family member who is participating in the project

- Speak English primarily