330635
Innovative Methods of Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) on a College Campus among Racial/Ethnic Minority Students
Despite public health efforts, excessive alcohol consumption (EAC) has become the 3rd leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Common among college students age 18-24, EAC results in negative consequences, and approximately 1,825 deaths each year. Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) strategies have shown efficacious results in decreasing risky alcohol use on college campuses. However, colleges often lack the resources needed to provide this service to students on a routine basis, specifically using an innovative approach known as Telehealth. This study aims at examining the use of Telehealth, a technologically advanced method of SBI, within a minority serving institution. Data for this study includes Telehealth participants, students age 18-24 on a college campus in southern California. Participants engaged in a 20 minute brief intervention alcohol screening session using a smartphone or tablet. A trained substance abuse counselor in a remote location interviewed the participants using the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test), and provided counseling as necessary. Follow-up surveys were completed immediately after the Telehealth session to investigate participant receptivity to using an electronic device to talk to a counselor about their alcohol use. Preliminary findings report that Telehealth as a means of implementing SBI alcohol use counseling on a college campus is effective at reducing risky alcohol use behaviors, and positively received by the minority student population. These findings may aid health professionals on college campuses to utilize technologically advanced SBI methods, such as Telehealth, to offer an economically feasible approach at reducing the negative health outcomes of excessive alcohol use. Policy makers at the institutional and state levels may also identify the integration of Telehealth on college campuses as an efficient tool to reduce health disparities among this population.
Learning Areas:
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Identify the utility in incorporating Telehealth as an innovative method of SBI on college campuses.
Compare recruitment methods used to increase participation.
Discuss feasibility of implementing Telehealth methods in a wide variety of college campuses.
Keyword(s): Alcohol Use, Technology
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the Research assistant on this SAMHSA funded grant since the beginning of the grant application process in the Fall of 2013. I assisted in creating data collection surveys, collecting data, pilot-testing, recruiting participants, creating marketing tools, and reporting preliminary data finding for our quarterly process evaluations. My scientific interests have centered around excessive alcohol use in youth populations and technology as an innovative tool for health program implementation strategies.
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.
