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February 2012

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In This Issue:

- Sharing the e-Newsletter

- Assessment Training on Website

- New Blog

- Save the Date! March 8 Quarterly Teleconference

- Resource Spotlight: Data for Alaskans

- New Data: Binge Drinking

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Please Share!

Please feel free to forward this e-newsletter to your coalition members, partners, and any other community members with an interest in prevention. We also have a handy subscription link – simply go to www.alaskaspfsig.org, and enter your name and email address to receive email notifications whenever our website is updated. Thanks for helping us spread the word!

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October 2011 Assessment Training on Website

Several grantees have undergone staff transitions since the assessment training that occurred in Anchorage in October. Now your new staff, as well as coalition members and other interested community members, can access audio recordings of the training as well as download the accompanying materials. Go to the Resources page on the Alaska grantee website (www.alaskaspfsig.org) and click on “October Web Training: recordings + resources,” which is the last item listed in the Assessment section.

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New Blog

Also coming soon is a new blog for Alaska’s SPF grantees. The blog will feature support team members, State evaluation team members, or even fellow grantees sharing a bit of wisdom they’ve picked up along the way, or perhaps posing a question to other grantees about a particular challenge they’re facing. A comments section will allow grantees to weigh in on the issues of the day. More details will be coming soon.

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Save the Date: March 8

Most of you have probably already received an official calendar invitation by email, but in case you haven’t yet had a chance to respond, here is another reminder to save the date of March 8, 2012, from 10:30 a.m. until noon. (That’s Alaska time, for the out-of-staters.) We’ll hear from grantees about progress, challenges and success stories, take time to answer questions, and share any new information and resources.

If you would like to participate but have not received an email invitation, please feel to email Karen Benning, karen@agnewbeck.com to request teleconference details.

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Resource Spotlight: Consumption and Consequence, Data for Alaskans

Looking for data on the consequences of alcohol use and abuse? One excellent place to start is Consumption and Consequence, the State of Alaska Epidemiological Profile on Substance Use, Abuse and Dependency. An entire section of this report focuses on consequence data, much of it broken down by borough or census area.

If you need more detailed data than what is provided in the report, contact the source shown for a particular data table. For example, let’s say a data table shows the Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics as its source. The grantee would contact that agency to request more community-specific data. If you’re not sure who to ask for at a particular agency, check Appendix A of the report, which lists all of the work group members and their affiliations. In this case, find the work group member who works for the Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics; they’re probably the best place to start with a more detailed data request. (Please note, entities may have varying capacity for pulling and sharing data.)

Another excellent aspect of Alaska’s epidemiological profile starts with the Appendices. Appendix B, for example, which starts on page 87 of the report, provides a long, detailed list of data sources, with the kinds of data they can provide. The best part is that much of this is specifically focused on Alaska sources, which means they are more likely to have the ability to break down the data for smaller areas and communities.

Finally, Appendix C provides another long, detailed list, this one of specific indicators related to substance use – both consumption and consequences. If your coalition is struggling with where to start in identifying the kinds of data that are most relevant to your chosen consequences, the Alaska epidemiological profile might help move you forward. You can find it here: Consumption and Consequence

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New Data on Binge Drinking

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released its 2010 report on adult binge drinking in the United States. Among their findings:

- The prevalence of binge drinking was somewhat higher in Alaska (21.2%) than in the rest of the U.S. (17.1%).

- Frequency (episodes per month) was slightly less in Alaska (4.0) than for the U.S. (4.4).

- Intensity (drinks per occasion) was 6.8 in Alaska versus 7.9 for the U.S.

You can see the full report by clicking here.

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