January 2022
In this Issue:



  • What's Happening Around the Region?
  • Meet the newest member of our team
  • Register: Ditching the Discomfort with Data Series: Part Two, Reading Data
  • Register:Prevention Coalition Affinity Group Series

  • HealtheKnowledge Online Course Spotlight
  • Cannabis Pharmacology for Substance Misuse Prevention Practitioners
Red Cup Campaign Separates Alcohol Facts from Fiction for University Students  

The Red Cup Q&A at the University of Oklahoma is a universal educational approach to alcohol misuse prevention. Developed at The University of Arizona in 2010 as a media campaign, OU Southwest Prevention Center (OUSWPC) entered into an agreement with them to customize logo and content for use on OU Norman campus.

OU’s Red Cup Q&A seeks to “separate alcohol fact from fiction” by answering students’ questions about alcohol.

Read more about OUSWPC's approach.
Epi Corner
Reducing Hazardous Drinking on College Campuses

By Iris Smith, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Over the past 20 years, alcohol and other drug use among college-age populations has been the topic of numerous research studies. A review of these studies indicate that patterns of alcohol and other drug use has changed over time. This is particularly true of binge drinking (consuming 4 or more drinks per drinking occasion or BAC of at least .08%).1 Social/environmental factors such as living arrangements (on or off campus); perceived social norms among peers; peer influence of specific social groups (e.g., fraternities), seasonal and recreational events such as New Year’s Eve, St. Patrick’s Day, athletic events, and parties have been associated with hazardous drinking among college students. Other risk factors include family attitudes toward alcohol, early onset of alcohol use, and personality characteristics such as impulsivity and anxiety.

What's Happening Around the Region?
South Southwest PTTC Training
The South Southwest PTTC is proud to announce the newest member to our team, Derrick L. Newby!

Since 1997, veteran Derrick Newby has worked in the field of prevention and public health in both the public and private sector. He now serves as a training and technical assistance specialist for the South Southwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center for HHS Region 6.
 
As a veteran’s counselor and advocate, Mr. Newby gained experience with the impact of federal programs on communities after working as a special assistant to a member of Congress. He then worked as the Program Coordinator in Arkansas for the Delta Region AIDS Education and Training Center for 15 years, facilitating the education of providers interested in increasing their capacity to provide comprehensive services related to HIV including testing and treatment. In 2017, he was selected for a position with the University of Arkansas Little Rock and served as a Program Coordinator with MidSOUTH Center for Prevention and Training for 5 years, helping to facilitate the growth of the prevention system. 
 
Serving on the Arkansas Prevention Certification Board since 2020, Mr. Newby has a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science in psychology with a minor in education.
Prevention Coalition Affinity Group Series

A 3-part series presented by the South Southwest PTTC

Please join us for a unique opportunity to participate in a guided learning experience about enhancing substance misuse prevention sustainability efforts in the current pandemic environment. As a result of this shared learning experience, participants will connect with others who have shared aspects of their identity related to prevention. Many have had the same experiences working with prevention coalitions. By sharing these experiences in this forum we will foster the exchange of ideas that could lead to capacity building and retention. The multiple session affinity group is expected to generate new ideas related to sustainability that can be used to improve coalition outcomes.

Session 1 Sustaining Prevention Efforts January 25, 2022, 1:30-3 PM CST

Session 2 Promoting Evidence-Based Programs
February 14, 2022, 1:30-3 PM CST

Session 3 Developing Actions that Improve Outcomes
March 10, 2022, 1:30-3 PM CST
Begin Your Data Journey and Ditch the Discomfort

A 5-part series presented by the South Southwest PTTC

Watch for the dates of our other training in the series throughout the year. Join our mailing list to receive notifications about future training.

In this five-part series, Dr. Hayden Center will take you on a data journey. Dr. Center will start with an overview of the basic components of data literacy. Then, in parts two through five, he’ll take a deeper dive into data collection, data analysis and interpretation, and finally visualizing and communicating data to your partners.
  
Part 1, the overview of the Ditching the Discomfort with Data series is now available on our website! Click here to view the presentation resources.
Registration is now available for part two in the series!
 
Are you curious about what you need to know as a prevention professional to participate in data-based decision making? Does your prevention grant require you to conduct a needs assessment or an evaluation? If you are new to prevention or new to using data, this series is for you!
 
In part two of this five-part series, Dr. Hayden Center will take you on the next step of your data journey to "ditch the discomfort." We will discuss what it means to "read" data, identify tips to help you understand data, research, and evaluate outcomes, and give you prevention related opportunities to practice reading data.  
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HealtheKnowledge Online Course Spotlight
New Online Course

Cannabis Pharmacology for Substance Misuse Prevention Practitioners is a 4.5 hour self-paced course that provides important information on what prevention professionals need to know about cannabis. Dr. Hayden Center presents the following 3-part series:

  • The Effects of Cannabis
  • Cannabis and the Adolescent Brain
  • Cannabis Pharmacology