262167 Assessing the efficacy of college alcohol task forces

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Julia Sanem, MPH , Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Toben F. Nelson, ScD , Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Darin J. Erickson, PhD , Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Mark Miazga, JD , Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Traci L. Toomey, PhD , Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) recommends the formation of campus and community coalitions as one strategy to help alter aspects of college campus culture that support excessive and underage alcohol use. This approach aims to re-frame student drinking as a community problem by bringing together all stakeholders needed to address it and to initiate cooperative action. We conducted a qualitative assessment of college drinking prevention efforts utilizing a telephone survey of up to eight key informants at 13 U.S. colleges and universities. We interviewed 89 campus key informants (response rate=85.6%), including directors of administration, athletics, fraternity and sorority life, health services, judicial affairs, law enforcement, mental health services, and residence life, and compared their responses to NIAAA recommendations. Respondents identified diverse on-campus membership but limited off-campus community membership and described program and policy review and increasing communication between college departments as typically utilized task force approaches. However, many respondents did not know the approaches the task force utilized. Additionally, respondents suggested several ways that task forces could be more effective, including increased commitment from members, more off-campus community members, increased leadership and support from senior administration, and more resources. We conclude that to effectively alter campus culture, task forces must utilize the NIAAA's recommendation that active coalitions should build support for addressing underage and excessive college drinking, help assure that strategies used respond to the needs of the campus community, maintain and institutionalize effective strategies, and evaluate and disseminate results to other college communities.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe the NIAAA’s recommendations for effective campus and community coalitions Identify the characteristics of alcohol task forces at 13 U.S. colleges and universities as described by key informants Compare the alcohol task force characteristics to the NIAAA’s recommendations for effective campus and community coalitions

Keywords: Alcohol Use, Coalition

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am currently a Epidemiology PhD student at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and collaborate with researchers in the Alcohol Epidemiology Program at the University of Minnesota. My interests include college student health, alcohol use, and policy.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.