Colgate is one of 32 universities taking part in a unique program created by Dartmouth College to combat binge drinking.
The Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking, coordinated through Dartmouth’s National College Health Improvement Project (NCHIP), aggressively tackles excessive alcohol consumption on campus using initiatives that require stakeholders to plan, do, study, and act (PDSAs).
The learning collaborative’s dynamic approach treats binge drinking, defined as five or more drinks in one sitting, 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, for better or for worse, 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 crunching the numbers, reading surveys, and data mining for 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 learning 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.”