University of Iowa debuts new, more ambitious, ‘alcohol harm reduction’ goals

IOWA CITY - The University of Iowa on Monday debuted its 2016-2019 alcohol harm reduction plan, including new goals, but officials already are looking to amend those with emerging campus health data showing the institution can aim higher.

The new plan used 2015 UI health assessment data to set a 2019 target of cutting the percent of students who engage in high-risk drinking from 54.2 percent to 49 percent. But the UI's 2016 National College Health Assessment, which came out after the new alcohol harm reduction plan was published, shows the university is nearly there - with its percentage down to 50.9.

'That is something our committee already has said, ‘You know what, we need to change our target,'” said Tanya Villhauer, associate director for UI student wellness and harm reduction initiatives.

The new plan - developed by the faculty, staff, and students on the UI's Alcohol Harm Reduction Advisory Committee - sets additional data-driven targets like cutting the average number of drinks students consume from nearly 6 in 2015 to 4 in 2019 or reducing the percent who drink 10 or more days a month from 26 percent last year to 20 percent in three years. It also maps out a method and strategies for achieving those targets with harder-to-quantify goals - like attracting more low-risk drinkers to the school, keeping abstainers from drinking, and persuading high-risk drinkers to change.

'The messaging has really shifted,” Villhauer said. 'We've made a great effort to really do some specific training on our alcohol culture here at the university.”

That culture historically has received a lot of attention - with the university earning top party-school accolades year after year, hovering in the top five on Princeton Review and Playboy lists. With a new largest-ever UI freshman class about to converge on campus, Villhauer said, officials again are preparing for the impact of new party-school rankings expected any day.

'We try not to get mired down in it too much, but we know it's there, and we are bracing ourselves again,” she said. 'But we can say we are intentionally, as a university, trying to affect this with our alcohol reduction plan.”

And, Villhauer said, 'We are actually making progress in reducing our high-risk drinking.”

The evidence recently arrived in the UI's new 2016 National College Health Assessment summary. Nearly 600 undergraduates in the spring completed the survey, which asks not only about alcohol abuse but also drug use, sexual health and violence, mental health and anxiety, nutrition and general wellness.

The results show nearly 73 percent of the respondents reported using alcohol in the last 30 days, a decrease from more than 83 percent in 2011. It also showed 23.2 percent used alcohol on 10 or more days in the last 30, down from 30.4 percent in 2011.

Despite the improvement, UI students remain more likely to use alcohol, engage in high-risk drinking, and experience negative consequences than samples of students nationally.

And, in the UI's new alcohol harm reduction plan, UI President Bruce Harreld stressed, 'We owe it to our students to face the issues associated with high-risk drinking head on and with urgency.”

He said the university has identified 'proven strategies” and made 'impressive progress.” But, Harreld said, he expects continued improvement.

The plan outlines several strategies to make that happen.

Officials aim to recruit more low-risk students with pre-admission materials promoting the academic rigors of the university and the non-alcohol-related traditions;

Keep those students from engaging in high-risk drinking by offering late-night alternatives, educating parents, working with fraternities and sororities, and increasing student outreach;

And help high-risk drinkers change their behavior by exploring recovery services, offering resiliency strategies, and implementing alcohol screening programs.

Although the new UI health assessment showed improvement in alcohol use and abuse, it showed declines in some other health-related categories.

Nearly 28 percent of UI students in spring 2016 reporting using marijuana in the last 30 days, up from 25 percent in 2011.

Nearly 18 percent of men and 28 percent of women reported being diagnosed or treated for a mental health condition in the last year - 18 percent for anxiety and 14 percent for depression. Last year about 16 percent of men and 29 percent of women reported mental health conditions - 10 percent for anxiety and 8 percent for depression.

In 2016, more than 9 percent harmed themselves, nearly 11 percent seriously considered suicide, and 3.5 percent attempted suicide. All those were up from last year, when 1.8 percent harmed themselves, 2.7 percent seriously considered suicide, and .9 percent attempted suicide.

Nearly 5 percent of the 2016 respondents vomited or used laxatives to lose weight - more than any of the last seven years.

'One thing we know from that data is that mental health issues are increasing,” Villhauer said.

UI Counseling Services recently has grown its staff, and Villhauer said that should help address a variety of health-related issues on campus - beyond alcohol and drug abuse. The university also is working to establish social networks and support groups for students going through similar challenges - like alcohol addiction and recovery.

'They can feel a little bit isolated,” she said. 'So we are really trying to be more intentional with the messaging and then also the social support for them.”