What is SOPA
ABOUT SOPA (TRATAC)
SOPA approach as a pilot project (2016 – 2022)
SOPA, which stands for Together for a responsible attitude towards alcohol consumption (TRATAC), is an approach that aims to reduce alcohol consumption in Slovenia. It initially began as a project under the regulation of the Operational Programme for Cohesion Policy in the period 2014-2020 (1). It was financed by the European structural fund (80%) and Slovenia’s Ministry of Health (20%). The project was led by NIJZ, Slovenia’s National Institute of Public Health.
The SOPA project began in October 2016 and lasted until January 2022. Its primary purpose was to reduce excessive alcohol use by adult Slovenians, thus preventing negative consequences of risky and harmful alcohol consumption on individuals and/or their loved ones. We achieved this by establishing an interdisciplinary approach to detecting risky and harmful alcohol consumption, and supporting quitting of such consumption (2).
SOPA was carried out as a pilot project in eighteen local areas: Murska Sobota, Gornja Radgona, Slovenska Bistrica, Laško, Sevnica, Brežice, Ravne na Koroškem, Ljubljana, Kočevje, Idrija, Koper, Nova Gorica, Ajdovščina, Radovljica/Bled, Maribor, Lenart, Ormož, Ptuj.
SOPA approach in the system (2022 – )
In January 2022, the SOPA approach was partially systematically implemented and is now carried out as a part of the Skupaj za zdravje (Together for Health) programme (more about it here). In health promotion centres and health education centres around Slovenia, individuals can take part in workshops in two areas: risky and harmful alcohol consumption, and healthy relationships.
The Risky and Harmful Alcohol Consumption workshops (brief intervention 1 during the pilot) are based on individual consultations for quitting risky and harmful alcohol consumption. The basic workshop is for those who wish to quit their risky and harmful alcohol consumption, while the advanced workshop focuses on helping them maintain their abstinence from alcohol. The workshops are aimed at all individuals, and their loved ones, who seek professional help and/or support on their quitting alcohol journey.
The Healthy Relationships workshop is for those who wish to strengthen or improve their interpersonal relationships with the help of skills and tactics that encourage the participants to observe their relationships and contribute to a greater contentment within them.
To learn more about why SOPA is important and the reasons behind its beginnings, click HERE.
You can read more about the SOPA project in THIS information brochure.
If you would like to test your knowledge on alcohol, you can do so HERE.
More about SOPA and additional user materials are available in English, Italian, and Hungarian. You can access them HERE.
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(1) Within the framework of priority axis 9: Social inclusion and reduction of the risk of poverty, priority investment 9.1 – Active inclusion, including promotion of equal opportunities and active participation, and improvement of employability, thematic objective Education of focus groups for labour market.
(2) Hočevar, T., Henigsman, K., Štruc, A. and Založnik, P. (2022). SOPA pristop obravnave tveganega in škodljivega pitja alkohola. In T. Hočevar, M. Kolšek, K. Hengisman, M.Roškar and D. Boben Bardutzky, Priročnik za izvajanje pristopa SOPA, book 1 (pp. 112-135). Ljubljana: NIJZ.