Integrated Surveillance System for Controlling COVID-19 on a University Campus, 2020‒2021.

To minimize the impacts of COVID-19 and to keep campus open, Cornell University's Ithaca, NY, campus implemented a comprehensive process to monitor COVID-19 spread, support prevention practices, and assess early warning indicators linked to knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes of campus community members. The integrated surveillance approach informed leadership and allowed for prompt adjustments to university policies and practices through evidence-based decisions. This approach enhanced healthy behaviors and promoted the well-being and safety of all community members. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(7):980-984. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306838).

Intervene: Modeling Pro-Social Bystander Behavior in College Students through Online Video.

This study evaluates the impact of a theory- and empirical evidence- based 20-minute video, Intervene, on college students' intentions to intervene on behalf of others in multiple problematic situations: an alcohol emergency, emotional distress, hazing, intimate partner violence, racial bias, sexual assault, and sexual harassment. A randomized controlled trial of undergraduate and graduate students (N = 1,243) was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the video as an intervention for increasing students' self-reported likelihood to engage in pro-social bystander behavior across these various situations. Results showed that participants who viewed the video online reported higher likelihood at 4 weeks post-viewing to intervene in situations involving hazing, intimate partner violence, racial bias, and sexual harassment than did their control group counterparts. Intervene is the first video-based bystander education intervention shown to be effective, even 4 weeks after viewing, at increasing college students' self-reported likelihood to intervene in multiple problematic social situations. Providing access to this free online video represents a cost-effective prevention and communication strategy that can be employed by other colleges and universities.

Measuring the impact of becoming a health-promoting campus: Creating a comprehensive evaluation model.

OBJECTIVE: As more institutions adopt the Okanagan Charter (2015) to become health-promoting campuses, the question of how to effectively evaluate the impact of this work remains key. This article describes the development of an evaluation model designed to measure the collective impact of embedding holistic health into all aspects of campus culture. METHODS: Drawing from social cognitive, social ecological, and organizational change frameworks, the evaluation model provides a tiered, mixed-methods approach for assessing the impact of cross-sector health-promoting programs, policies, and campus culture change on student well-being. RESULTS: We review the evaluation model with corresponding research questions, case examples, and key indicators that can be adopted at other institutions to provide a flexible, scalable, and sustainable approach to monitoring campus health and well-being over time. CONCLUSIONS: This work responds to increasing calls to develop concrete frameworks to translate the principles of health-promoting campus work into equitable and sustainable action.

A public health approach to preventing hazing on a university campus.

Objective: The present report describes a comprehensive, public health approach to hazing prevention on a university campus and evaluates its impact over time. Participants: Two different surveys (PULSE and MASCOT) were administered to college undergraduate students, in April 2013 (PULSE n = 6,190; MASCOT n = 3,117) and March 2015 (PULSE n = 4,892; MASCOT n = 2,259). Methods: A public health model of hazing prevention was implemented between 2011-2015. The MASCOT Survey assessed experiences of hazing and non-hazing behaviors, and the PULSE Survey measured beliefs and perceptions of social norms related to hazing. Results: Survey results showed lower levels of hazing experiences reported by students in 2011-2015 compared to 2009-2013 and increased endorsement of a positive normative belief about hazing from 2013 to 2015. Conclusions: The findings represent the first measurable decrease in hazing associated with prevention efforts in the literature, though design limitations preclude clear causal inferences. The results suggest that the university's strategies may have been effective at reducing hazing, and therefore serve as an important step forward in the field of hazing prevention research.