Alcohol Awareness Course

Sierra Batts, Elizabeth

Czarick, Tykedra Driskell,
Maddison Wilkes
 Purpose
Alcohol Consumption at Georgia College (2021):
- 73.3% of students had consumed alcohol in the past 3 months
- 25% of students drunk over five or more drinks the last time they participated
in social drinking
- 30.3% reported having drank at least five or more drinks at least one or more
times within the past two weeks

Why does it matter?

- Binge drinking - when a female has four or more drinks, or a male has five or
more drinks within a two-hour timespan.
- Each year, over 140,000 Americans die from effects relating to alcohol
consumption.
- It is estimated that 1 in 10 Americans over the age of twelve has an Alcohol
Use Disorder.
- Covid-19 pandemic - led to 60% of Americans reporting an increase in
alcohol consumption during times of lockdown.
 Key Health Issues
Consistent consumption of alcohol is associated with many detrimental physical
and psychological health effects.

- anxiety - depression
- bipolar disorder - drinking habits
- liver damage - high blood pressure
- serious or fatal injury - physical and sexual assault
- criminal activity and altered decision making - alcoholism and dependence
Analysis
SWOT
Analysis
SWOT
Knowledge and Information Gaps
● Environmental Factors:
○ campus culture
○ social norms
○ accessibility to alcohol
○ alcohol industry advertising strategies
● Mental Health on Campus:
○ Connection Between Alcohol Consumption and Mental Health
Problems
○ Stress, Anxiety, and Depression rates of students
○ Coping Mechanisms
■ therapy
■ alcohol use
● Success of Past Harm Reduction Strategies:
○ Designated Driver programs
○ Educational/ training sessions
■ help to recognize the signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning
Formative Research
● Conducting a initial needs assessment (pretest)
○ Assess whether tactics are culturally relevant, clear, address
key group’s health literacy levels, clearly encourage action.
○ Emails & flyers
● Survey
○ Aid in understanding prevalent issues
○ Structure course based on
○ Assess knowledge
Sample Media
Preliminary Data Collection Survey
Preliminary Data Collection Survey (cont.)
Preliminary Data Collection Survey (cont.)
Preliminary Data Collection Survey (cont.)
 Communication Strategy
Audiences
Inspiring individuals to reflect on their alcohol habits is a great first step in
bringing awareness of the risks of excessive alcohol consumption on an
individual’s health and well-being.
- Primary audience
- college students aged 18-24
- Secondary audience
- college students in sororities and fraternities
- Influencing audience
- faculty, staff, visitors, and the broader Milledgeville population
 Communication Strategy Cont.
Objectives
a. Overall Program Goal: Reduce the prevalence of excessive alcohol consumption in Georgia College & State
University students aged 18-24.
b. Outcome Objectives:
i. Behavioral Objective: By the year 2025, 15% of GCSU students aged 18-24 will reduce alcohol intake
to less than 7 drinks per week for women or less than 14 drinks per week for men.
ii. Social Objective: By the year 2025, increase social acceptance of abstaining from alcohol at campus
events (football games, tailgates, parties, etc.) among 5% of GCSU students.
iii. Organizational Objective: By the year 2028, become a leading resource in the field of alcohol-related
harm reduction promotion at college campuses across the state of Georgia.
c. Communication Objectives:
i. To increase knowledge regarding the adverse health effects of excessive alcohol consumption
among 25% of GCSU students aged 18-24 by the year 2025.
ii. To change attitudes about safe and acceptable drinking habits (quantity, frequency, and pace of
consumption) among 25% of GCSU students aged 18-24 by the year 2025.
Communication Strategy cont.
Positioning and Long-Term Identity
We want GCSU students to see that a reduction in alcohol
consumption can help benefit their health, their grades,
and their wallets.

A reduction in alcohol consumption could improve

students' quality of life in several areas.

● Improvement in athletic performance, recovery, and

body composition
● Improvement in academic performance with fewer
late nights and more time to study, prepare, and
focus on education
● Reduction in expenses related to drinking, allowing
students to utilize money saved for other exciting,
productive activities in and around the Milledgeville
area
Communication Strategy cont.
Strategic Approach
We will partner with campus organizations in order to
fill information gaps, participation, and gain valuable
feedback to improve the intervention. These partners
include:

● The Office of Student Life: to determine any

outstanding issues not addressed in data
collection
● The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life: insight
into any issues within the Greek life community
● Intervention Participants: course feedback
surveys
● Student-Led Organizations (Greek Life
organizations and Student Government
Association): promotion, participation,
testimonials
Communication Strategy cont.
Marketing Mix
Product: education sessions and engage with the following content during each hour-long session:

● alcohol safety
● standard drink sizes and pacing of consumption
● peer pressure as it relates to alcohol consumption
● long-term health effects of alcohol consumption

Price:
● there is no monetary cost to students
● nonmonetary costs are associated include time and effort spent attending the course
● students will receive non-monetary benefits from course attendance including improved academic
performance and long-term health outcomes

Place:
● courses will be conducted in vacant lecture halls on GCSU campus
● will occur during weekdays and outside of typical class times

Promotion:
● various mediums including flyers, emails, and announcements through the university email system and
around campus
● promoted at Fallfest and Springfest
Logic Model: Contributing Factors,
Strategies, and Outcomes
Logic Model: Contributing Factors,
Strategies, and Outcomes cont.
 Communication Tactics
Primary Audience
Awareness Seminars Ads in Buildings

Tabling
 Communication Tactics
Secondary Audience

Campus/Community Events

Sport Events
Communication Strategy Cont.
Key Messages

● Short-term health effects

○ Motor vehicle accidents
○ Drownings
○ Falls
● Long-term effects
○ chronic and comorbid diseases
■ Ex: Hypertension, heart disease, stroke, cancer, weakened
immu system, follow through life
● AUD impact on children
○ Emotional or physical neglect
○ Instability
○ Behavior concerns
○ Development of anxiety and depression
● Interventions are needed to aid in education and prevention
Who Do We Want to Reach and
Engage?
Key Groups Stakeholders
● Primary Audience ● Georgia College Wellness
○ GCSU college
students 18-24 Center
● Secondary Audience
● School of Health and
○ Sorority and
fraternity life Human Performance
students
● Influencing Audience ● Office of Fraternity and
○ Milledgeville
population Sorority Life (OFSL
○ GCSU faculty and
staff
○ Visitors
Communication Strategy Cont.
Channels and Tools

● Online course
○ Technology
● Communication vehicles
○ Advertisements
○ Marketing
Communication Tactics
● Flyers
● Emails
● Announcements through university
email
● Alcohol awareness week
● Alcohol awareness tabling
● Advertisement at large campus
events
 Collaboration
● GCSU Wellness Center
○ Assist in establishing initial and continual program awareness to
guarantee program impact, reach, and sustainability
● The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life
○ Increase awareness and program importance among this
particular group of students
● School of Health and Human Performance
○ Guarantee the quality of course materials and health information
as outlined in the Alcohol Awareness Course
Timeline for Strategy Implementation
Program Budget

Budget

Media $15,000

Project Materials $10,000

Production $5,000

Communication $5,000

Personnel $5,000

Total $40,000
Monitoring Plan
● SMART objectives used to track progress to meet overall program
goal: reducing the prevalence of excessive alcohol consumption in
Georgia College & State University students aged 18-24
● Market the course at sporting events and large on-campus events to
increase awareness
● Monitor for reports of alcohol-related incidents on campus in the
current year and previous years
○ comparing incidence rates to determine if the course is effective
in reaching overall program goal
 Evaluation
TRACKING PROGRESS AND IMPACT

Pre-surveys will be taken by students at the

start of the course and post-surveys after the
completion of the course in order to track the
progress of the Alcohol Awareness Course
and its impact on behavior change. Tracking
student progress throughout their
undergraduate years will allow for better
Course management, implementation, quality,
and sustainability.
Alcohol Consumption Pre-Post
Implementation Survey
Alcohol Consumption Pre-Post
Implementation Survey
Evaluation Plan
 References
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