Medical Amnesty Policies: Research is Needed

Abstract

This article explores the issues surrounding medical amnesty policies in higher education beginning with the background of such policies, a summary of the current debate regarding the policies, and a discussion of research related to helping behaviors among college students. Due to the negative consequences of alcohol misuse, many student affairs administrators have implemented medical amnesty or Good Samaritan policies. These policies usually consist of an educational campaign in which students are assured that they will not be sanctioned by the university if they seek help for a peer who is intoxicated. The current discussion regarding medical amnesty policies focuses on the debate between harm reduction and enabling. Understanding why students do not seek help is crucial to designing policies or other interventions to increase help seeking. The article reviews the arguments for and against medical amnesty policies and gives specific recommendations for further research on this topic.