The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #42290

Beth Canfield, MPH, School of Public Health, Ohio State University, 320 West 10th Avenue, B-207 Starling-Loving Hall, Columbus, OH 43210-1240, 614/292-4527, canfield.16@osu.edu

Party Smart, developed during spring of 2001, is a new initiative at the Ohio State University. The objectives of Party Smart include preventing major off-campus disturbances, educating students about being responsible party guests (i.e. how to drink responsibly), and teaching off-campus residents how to make the community a safer, friendlier and cleaner place to live. Party Smart is dedicated to the ideas supporting safe and responsible drinking among OSU students.

Party Smart kits include both educational information about alcohol and other drugs and other important information having to do with partying responsibly as well as a Party Smart t-shirt; safer-sex kits; trash bags; 24 free Coca-cola products; and other materials. Currently Party Smart kits are being distributed to students who request them through campus offices, area property managers, and local alcohol distributors. Student Community Ambassadors will be helping to promote Party Smart by helping to distribute information in the dorms and in the off-campus area.

This initiative seems to be working well and is very well received by students, faculty and staff, and permanent off-campus residents. Mail and internet surveys, focus groups, and individual interviews will assess the Party Smart responsible hospitality initiative. Students and local property owners’ feedback will be used to improve the contents of the Party Smart kits. These measures will help establish a baseline idea of student knowledge and attitudes and will be used to gauge the effectiveness of this programming in the next two academic years to follow.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participants will be able to

• Discuss the pros and cons of using a responsible hospitality program to prevent off-campus disturbances
• Identify important groups to collaborate with when developing and assessing a binge drinking prevention program for college students
• Describe strategies that can be used to evaluate a multi-faceted responsible hospitality program

Keywords: Evaluation, College Students

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The Ohio State University Student Wellness Center
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employment