Alcohol continues to be the number one substance of choice among young people and many communities are looking for ways to address this problem. That’s why reducing underage drinking will be a major topic addressed at CADCA’s 2015 Mid-Year Training Institute Aug. 2-6 in Indianapolis. And who better to cover the topic than Dr. David Jernigan.
During the course “Alcohol Marketing and Youth: How Do We Go Forward,” from 8:30 a.m. to Noon Aug. 5, alcohol policy researcher Dr. David Jernigan will discuss how alcohol marketing influences teen drinking. He will review the latest evidence on the relationship between exposure to alcohol marketing and youth drinking behavior, including findings from long-term studies of young people, research on youth brand choices and drinking, youth cultural exposure (such as movies or popular music), as well as recent work on the effects of digital and social media on underage drinking. The second half of the session will address how community and state leaders can use the wide body of research on this topic to take action.
“The evidence is growing that alcohol marketing affects youth drinking behavior, but most communities are at a loss about what can be done. Yet partly because marketing is so ubiquitous, we are literally surrounded by opportunities to do something about it. And young people themselves are often the most effective advocates for change,” said Jernigan, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society, and Director of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Jernigan will also debut CADCA’s brand-new Strategizer at the Mid-Year. Produced jointly with CAMY, Strategizer 57: Reducing Alcohol-Related Harms Through Commercial Host Liability introduces public health departments, community coalitions and other interested organizations and individuals to commercial host liability as a public health intervention to reduce the health and social problems associated with excessive alcohol use.
“This new publication offers coalitions insight into a powerful strategy to reduce alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes: holding those who sell or serve alcohol for profit liable for serving underage persons and over-serving adult patrons,” Jernigan said.
During another course from 1:30-5 p.m. Aug. 5, “Implementing Environmental Strategies to Reduce Underage Drinking: How Do We Do What the Research Base Says Is Most Effective?, Jernigan will explore evidence-based environmental strategies around what the World Health Organization has termed the “best buys” for reducing alcohol problems: policies related to the physical availability of alcohol, cost of alcohol, and alcohol marketing. The small, hands-on session will group people into the three policy areas, and help them identify and brainstorm how to address barriers, in terms of stages in an implementation effort, messaging, enforcement and evaluation.
“The most effective strategies for reducing underage drinking are also often the most difficult to implement. The hope for this session is that with more specific problem-solving assistance coalitions can overcome barriers in their way of translating the research evidence into action for safer and healthier communities,” Jernigan said.
Jernigan recommends participants interested in taking the “Implementing Environmental Strategies to Reduce Underage Drinking” attend Sue Thau’s “Lobbying vs Education of Elected Officials” from 9:45 a.m. to Noon Aug. 3 as a prerequisite.
That session will provide participants with the basic information they need to learn about the differences between education and lobbying. This will be a highly interactive and engaging session emphasizing how to most effectively educate policy makers and the public by using your local data.
CADCA’s Mid-Year is a unique, intensive training opportunity offering courses to expand your knowledge in prevention science and improve your skills in implementing evidence-based strategies. CADCA’s Mid-Year Training Institute provides in-depth, skills-building training courses that allow for concentrated instruction, group practice, and knowledge application – the kind of adult learning experience that is the hallmark of CADCA events. More than 1,500 attendees are expected for this one-of-a-kind, coalition-specific training opportunity.
Learn more about the training tracks, key speakers and other details about CADCA’s Mid-Year Training Institute.
Register today! Don’t forget to book your hotel room now.
