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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Christopher J. Russell¹, Jessie B. Williams², Mary Ann Zizzo², Leslie S. Aldrich, MPH³, and Rosina T. Bowman². (1) Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, 617-493-2044, christopher_russell@student.hms.harvard.edu, (2) Community Benefit Program, Massachusetts General Hospital Revere Health Care Center, 300 Ocean Avenue, Revere, MA 02151, (3) Community Benefit Program/Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford Street, Boston, MA 02114

The Revere CARES Coalition, a substance abuse prevention coalition supported by Massachusetts General Hospital Community Benefits, reached its eighth year of organizing to reduce underage drinking and other drug use in a community where rates of underage drinking have declined from 66%. As part of ongoing assessment and planning processes, the Coalition engaged a student from the Harvard Medical School Community Oriented Primary Care Program to conduct key informant interviews to assess changes in community norms regarding underage drinking. Over twenty key leaders were interviewed in semi-structured, individual sessions, including parents, Chief of Police, probation officers, Child Protective Services Director, School Superintendent, High School Principal, Mayor, School Committee members, two physicians, and an adolescent nurse practitioner, among others. Results indicate that community leaders identify three shifts in community norms that they attribute to work of the Coalition: (1) community leaders working in isolation to now working in collaboration to address problems such as substance abuse; (2) community backlash toward leaders who enforce laws and policies with regard to underage drinking to community backing of enforcement efforts; and (3) silence and denial about alcohol and drug use in the community to an open dialogue. Coalition organizing can be a powerful mechanism to shift community norms to address youth substance abuse.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able
• Understand how community readiness strategies--including building relationships, trust, and collaborations and developing a common language around alcohol and other drug prevention-- lay the foundation for successful environmental strategies to reduce access and use of ATOD.

Keywords: Substance Abuse, Community Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation