Who We Are
The Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Collaborative is a diverse group of students, staff, and faculty committed to addressing substance use within our community.
Goals
Acknowledging the complexity of substance use as a community concern within the college environment, the AOD Collaborative formed two action teams in Fall 2019 to further the UConn's efforts to enhance student wellbeing.
The Data Team was developed to better leverage the rich data the University collects, in order to more effectively identify problems areas and assess the efficacy of strategic interventions. This includes defining the purpose, audience, and data points of a dashboard (or dashboards) related to AOD, clarifying the data needed for the student chapter of the biennial review, identifying who “owns” the data, and setting up communications and expectations to streamline data reporting.
The Messaging Team grew out of dialogue within the AOD Collaborative which identified a need to increase the cohesiveness of messaging across the University. This includes establishing a sustainable mechanism for continuous communication among community stakeholders about AOD messaging, to increase consistency and collaboration in messaging, and building processes for students and staff to co-author evidence-informed messaging, to develop and implement messaging that is currently relevant and culturally specific to our diverse community
Projects
Create the Alcohol & Other Drug Data Dashboard. (Current)
The Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Collaborative hopes to establish a dashboard of AOD data points to provide population-level indicators of student health and climate, as they relate to substance use. UConn routinely collects AOD-related data through a number of surveys and university processes, including the National College Health Assessment Survey, the new student Health History Form, and AlcoholEdu. AOD Collaborative members are reviewing existing data, identifying gaps, developing recommendations for dashboard data points to guide community prevention efforts.
Create an AOD Messaging Toolkit. (2021)
AOD Collaborative members identified a lack of cohesive alcohol and other drug messaging, co-created by students, staff, and faculty as a barrier to effectively engaging the UConn community around this topic. The committee is working toward crafting a shared core message regarding alcohol and other drug use, with the goal of developing a strategic messaging resource for community members.
Update the Biennial Review. (2021)
In compliance with the Drug Free Schools and Communities Act (DFSCA), UConn engages in a comprehensive biennial review of our community’s prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery efforts. The biennial review process provides an opportunity to consider the strengths of UConn’s existing strategies, identify gaps, and make recommendations for reducing the impact of alcohol and other drugs on the campus community. Representing key stakeholders, the AOD Collaborative plays a critical role in contributing to the biennial review.
Resources
Campus Drug Prevention
A compendium of resources, including a Student Center with student-specific resources, to prevent drug abuse among college students. The US Drug Enforcement Administration is committed to promoting the importance of prevention and its role in helping ensure the health and safety of our nation’s colleges and universities.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDC is the nation’s health protection agency, working 24/7 to protect America from health and safety threats, both foreign and domestic.
College Alcohol Intervention Matrix
Developed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) with leading college alcohol researchers and staff, CollegeAIM—the College Alcohol Intervention Matrix—is an easy-to-use and comprehensive booklet and website to help schools identify effective alcohol interventions.t of substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities.
Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery
It is the mission of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery, in partnership with the nation’s colleges and universities, to promote student success nationally by providing data-driven solutions to alcohol and drug misuse; lead the dialogue on collegiate alcohol and drug misuse and recovery in the national agenda; and ensure the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of the Center’s efforts.
Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery (HECAOD)
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
NIAAA is one of the 27 institutes and centers that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIAAA supports and conducts research on the impact of alcohol use on human health and well-being. It is the largest funder of alcohol research in the world.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
The National Institute on Drug Abuse
NIDA’s mission is to advance science on the causes and consequences of drug use and addiction and to apply that knowledge to improve individual and public health. The National Institute on Drug Abuse also administers the Monitoring the Future study, which measures drug and alcohol use and related attitudes among adolescent students nationwide.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA)
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. SAMHSA's mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Get Involved
To Get Involved: email wellnesscoalition@uconn.edu
