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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Leslie S. Aldrich, MPH¹, Rosina T. Bowman², Jessie B. Williams², Mary Ann Zizzo², and Georgia Willis, PhD³. (1) Community Benefit Program/Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford Street, Boston, MA 02114, 617-724-6835, laldrich@partners.org, (2) Community Benefit Program, Massachusetts General Hospital Revere Health Care Center, 300 Ocean Avenue, Revere, MA 02151, (3) Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford Street, Boston, MA 02115

The Revere CARES Coalition, a substance abuse prevention coalition supported by Massachusetts General Hospital Community Benefits, is in its eighth year of funding. During it's first four years it increased services and resources as well as strongly advocated for enforcement of ATOD laws and ordinances. In 2001, as part of ongoing assessment and planning processes, the coalition reviewed Revere Public School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Data and found that youth substance use was increasing. The Coalition quickly recognized that reducing underage drinking takes more than services, resources, and policies. In 2001, Revere CARES worked with MGH's Institute for Health Policy to develop a Community Survey. The survey was sent to 1,500 adults ages 25-54, with a response rate of 30%. This survey data was analyzed along with YRBS data to compare how the community perceived youth alcohol and drug use with youth self-reports of usage. A large majority of residents believe that substance use among teenagers in Revere is a large problem and that access to drugs and alcohol is easy. 88% of parents with children ages 11-13, however, reported they did not believe their child drank, in contrast to the YRBS data in which over 50% of middle school students reported using alcohol. Based on these data, Revere CARES Action Plan shifted to strategies and activities that contribute to changing social norms regarding alcohol use, including the development of a broad-reaching community awareness campaign.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant(learner) in this session will be able to

• Understand the need for formal community assessments and learn about various methods to conduct these assessments
• Understand how to formulate strategic plans and the challenges involved in switching the direction of coalition work
• Identify various methods to measure social norms.

Keywords: Community Research, Community Planning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No