Under the influence: taking alcohol issues into the college classroom

Alcohol use and abuse among college students pose an enormous and unique public health problem that is associated with significant harm to students. Colleges nationwide are seeking to address student alcohol use through a variety of programs and policies. An effort at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., combines a campus-wide dialogue on the subject with the infusion of alcohol issues into the curriculum of an undergraduate course in the School of Nursing and Health Studies. Course evaluations indicate that participants benefited from the curriculum infusion approach. Participants became aware of the health education resources available to students and the campus culture contributing to alcohol. In addition, student participants evaluated their own alcohol use, with significant modifications of alcohol consumption behaviors.