141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

281549
Statewide collaborative to reduce college drinking and related problems

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Molly Mitchell, JD , Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Brittany A. Bugbee, BA, BS , Center on Young Adult Health and Development, The University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD
Marissa B. Esser, MPH , Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Rebecca Kurikeshu, MPH , Collaborative to Reduce College Drinking and Related Problems, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD
Alicia Sparks, MPH , Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health, Behavior & Society, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
David H. Jernigan, PhD , Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Amelia M. Arria, PhD , Center on Young Adult Health and Development, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD
Background: College student drinking exacts enormous social and economic costs for families, friends, campuses, and the community-at-large. While many colleges have invested significant effort to ameliorate these outcomes, with some notable exceptions the problem continues without major improvement. Methods: Public health experts at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Maryland School of Public Health reviewed the research literature and best practices, designed and implemented a statewide assessment of institutions of higher education (IHE) activities regarding alcohol consumption, and developed a state-of-the-art measurement system to produce comparable data among campuses. Results: With support from the state health department, Maryland IHEs have formed a statewide learning collaborative, led by a statewide Governance Council of interested IHE presidents, complemented by an Advisory Board of campus and community leaders. Reports on baseline policies and practices at Maryland IHEs, a user-friendly Guide to Best Practices, and a statewide conference were held in year one of the initiative, paving the way for an intensive training and consultation process with and among campuses that joined the collaborative in year two, along with implementation of the standardized measurement system. Conclusion: A statewide collaborative of college presidents, community partners, and public health experts can raise the public profile of the college drinking problem, assess policies and programs, and design strategies and systems to significantly reduce college drinking. The Maryland model draws on and can inform similar efforts in other states.

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Explain the importance of implementing evidence-based, multi-level and multi- component strategies to reduce alcohol problems among college students. Describe the process of creating and maintaining a statewide collaborative of college presidents and community and campus leaders to reduce college drinking and related problems. Discuss the components necessary for implementing a statewide evidence-based, multi-level initiative for reducing alcohol problems among college students

Keywords: Alcohol, College Students

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Senior Program Manager for the Maryland Collaborative to Reduce College Drinking and Related Problems. I previously managed statewide federally funded grant programs to reduce underage drinking in Maryland and facilitated inter-agency efforts in Baltimore City to reduce substance abuse among families with children in Baltimore City.
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.