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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Donald W. Zeigler, PhD, Office of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Abuse Prevention, American Medical Association, 515 N. State Street, Chicago, IL 60610, 312-464-5687, Donald.Zeigler@ama-assn.org

High-risk drinking continues to be the major public health problem among college students and contributing to negative consequences on student learning, memory, possible brain damage, as well as assault, drink driving, unprotected sex, injuries and death. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the Institute of Medicine report on underage drinking, and international experts assessed traditional control efforts and endorse comprehensive strategies that emphasize environmental policy change to reduce high-risk drinking and its consequences. The presentation will review the A Matter of Degree program, the longitudinal national initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to achieve environmental policy changes in ten university communities. The National Program Office ends in 2007 but several sites continue into 2008. The presentation will address characteristics and outcomes of successful coalitions, lessons learned from ten campus/community coalitions with national leadership from the American Medical Association and evaluation by the Harvard School of Public Health. and ways to disseminate the project's experiences now that funding has ended.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) will be able to

• Understand the social, political and economic obstacles to reducing high-risk drinking in college communities
• Understand the levels of effectiveness of evidence-based strategies to reduce high risk drinking and its consequences in college communities.
• Describe components of successful public policy by campus-community coalitions.
• Outline lessons learned for dissemination and application of a successful prevention model.

Keywords: Alcohol Problems, College Students

Related Web page: www.alcoholpolicymd.com

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered

Handout (.ppt format, 1107.5 kb)