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CATEGORY/THEME: Promoting Health Equality Among Populations at Risk
ABSTRACT BODY:
Introduction: Preventing alcohol abuse by minors and young adults remains a challenge for most communities, including military bases, where junior enlisted personnel face high stress related to wartime military lifestyle and military mission that their age equivalents do not experience. This high level of stress is associated with increased risk behaviors such as heavy episodic drinking during off-duty hours. In 2006, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) initiated a EUDL military discretionary grant program to reduce drinking among underage active duty Air Force members. The program grew out of preliminary evidence suggesting that, with focus from senior leadership and the community at-large, underage drinking and the associated consequences among active duty members could be lessened significantly. Grants to local communities required a) development of a coalition comprised of various institutions and organizations (e.g., police, media) along with representatives from an adjacent Air Force base; b) core program elements to be implemented, to establish program fidelity; and c) a set of performance measures that the grantee would report on annually. OJJDP awarded five grants in 2006, two additional grants in 2009, and two final grants in 2012. Since 2006, ICF International has been contracted to evaluate this military discretionary grant program. At previous Society for Prevention Research Annual meetings, ICF reported evaluation results pertaining to the first five 2006 grantees. The purpose of this paper is to present results from the evaluation of the four 2009/2012 grantees.
Methods: We collected data from the four grantees using multiple data sources, including: 1) a survey conducted with Airmen age 18-25; 2) site visits with grantees; and 3) administrative data provided by the Air Force. Using a quasi-experimental research design (i.e. demonstration and comparison sites, and data collected before, during and after the EUDL grant) we evaluated whether the interventions implemented by the four EUDL grantees had an impact on the behavior, experiences, and perceptions of Airmen.
Results: At previous SPR conferences, we reported decreased problem drinking at most sites, increased awareness at most sites regarding dangers associated with underage drinking, and an association between a particular mix of coalition activities and improved drinking outcomes. The proposed analysis of the final four grants will build on, reinforce, or challenge these findings.
Conclusion: This research contributes further to our understanding of the influence of EUDL, and coalitions, on underage drinking and associated consequences in military populations.