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RFH 2010, Cover Stories, Colgate News

Colgate Part of Effort to Curb Binge Drinking

Tue, Nov 08, 2011

Colgate is one of 32 universities taking part in a program created by Dartmouth University to combat binge drinking.

The Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking, coordinated through Dartmouth's National College Health Improvement Project (NCHIP), tackles excessive alcohol consumption on campus using initiatives that require stakeholders to plan, do, study, and act (PDSA).

The collaborative's dynamic approach treats binge drinking -- five or more drinks in one setting -- as a public health problem. Its tactics are similar to those used by Jim Yong Kim, Dartmouth president and NCHIP founder, when he directed the Department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization.

Led by Colgate's Interim Vice President and Dean of the College Scott Brown, alcohol and drug services coordinator Jane Jones and a team of students, faculty, and staff spark numerous ideas, which they implement quickly on a small scale. PDSAs in development this semester include:

  • training students to watch out for intoxicated classmates at parties,
  • delivering water and pizza to parties,
  • and informing parents about the university's new points system.

Jones and her colleagues then use qualitative and quantitative data to assess outcomes. If programs are successful, planners upsize the model, rerun, and reevaluate to ensure that only proven programs will be sustained.

"You're working for the greater good," said Jones. "You make changes today that add up to larger progress tomorrow."

All of this activity happens within the learning collaborative context. PDSAs are underway nationwide, from Stanford to Northwestern to Brown, and each member files weekly reports with NCHIP. What worked? What didn't? Prove it. The concepts and analysis are uploaded into the group's extranet, which can be tapped by participants as they strategize.

NCHIP's own core faculty -- physicians, psychologists, statisticians, communications specialists and public health experts -- are also studying methods to reduce the staggering numbers associated with binge drinking.

"Nationally, there are more than 1,800 deaths per year and there are 600,000 associated harms - injuring yourself, injuring others, having unprotected sex, thoughts of suicide," said NCHIP program manager Lisa Johnson.

It is the program's persistent movement forward that inspires Jones and reminds her that she's a part of something novel.

"We get things done," she said. "If your goal is to do something next month, then we ask, 'What are you doing about it next week?'"

The collaborative was launched last April as an 18-month program, punctuated by three learning sessions and a series of smaller meetings. Given the amount of data being collected and the number of institutions interested in the outcome, its potential will stretch far beyond 2012.

"High-risk drinking is a concern for most universities," said Brown. "We are proud to be part of an evidence-based, collaborative effort that promotes the safest possible environment for our students."

Source: Colgate

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