The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #69741

Helen Mundy, MPH, MPH Program, East Stroudsburg University, 200 Prospect St., East Stroudsburg, PA 18301, 5704223560, cwoodhouse@po-box.esu.edu and Lynn D. Woodhouse, EdD, MPH, Public Health Program, East Stroudsburg University, 200 Prospect St., 242 DeNike Building, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301.

Universities have invested resources, in time and money, into developing policies to control underage drinking and to reduce the associated risks to individuals and institutions. To date the investment has produced mixed results. Research shows that underage or excessive drinking may be especially difficult to understand and impact in the Greek organizations on a university campus because Greek culture may be somewhat grounded in alcohol. In an effort to facilitate an understanding of how alcohol functions within this culture, and understand what the basic issues are from the perspective of members of Greek organizations, an ethnographic study was conducted at a small public university. The goal of this study was to contribute to more effective prevention and policy development by illuminating the meanings of alcohol to this group. The methods of data collection included videotaped role-plays (which provided the foundation for continuing data collection), focus groups and interviews. The findings highlight some conflicts and contradictions that may need to be faced if effective policy development and prevention strategies will emerge. Some of these contradictions come from the participants, other contradictions emerge as we try to fit these findings into currently held beliefs about “best practice” in alcohol prevention. This presentation will highlight the themes important to this specific population. These findings can facilitate more insightful participant-based research in other settings. The presentation will also highlight how public health students can learn participatory research methods while contributing to change.

Learning Objectives:

• At the completion of this session the participants will be able to describe the value of qualitative methods for helping to plan prevention programs.
• At the completion of this session participants will be able to describe four different themes that emnerged in this study of college-age students, alochol and responsible drinking.

Keywords: Research, Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.