105 Measuring institutional support and evidence-based programming for sexual violence prevention on college campuses: results from a survey of higher education professionals

Abstract

<h3>Statement of Purpose</h3> Sexual violence (SV) persists among college-age youth despite policy initiatives for prevention and response. Organizational culture influences the injury prevention environment on college campuses, yet measurement on organizational culture specific to SV prevention lags. We developed a measure of institutional commitment to SV prevention, including use of institution-specific data to inform intervention strategies, based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. We report on psychometric properties of the resulting measure and preliminary results from a survey of higher education professionals working in SV prevention and response. <h3>Methods/Approach</h3> Higher education professionals engaged in SV prevention and response were recruited to complete a self-administered survey about institutional support related to campus-based SV. The survey is ongoing; follow-up interviews are planned with N=30 participants; data collection will be complete prior to the conference. <h3>Results</h3> Preliminary results (N=50) indicate professionals generally feel supported in their work, yet gaps exist in institutional support in areas such as adequate resources, leadership, and implementation of effective approaches. More than half of respondents indicated institution-specific data are used in intervention planning. However, climate survey data were less likely to be used relative to Title IX reports, resulting in prevention planning based largely on reported events, known not to be representative of campus-based SV experiences. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Institutional support and data-informed intervention planning are crucial factors for intervention success. Valid measures for institutional support for SV prevention can identify actionable gaps. Colleges are mandated to maintain SV data in some capacity; however, they do not always use these data for prevention planning. Campus climate surveys appear to be an underutilized tool in informing evidence-based interventions. <h3>Significance</h3> This presentation introduces a new measure of institutional support for SV prevention on college campuses, a critical tool in advancing implementation science in this field.