Building Prevention Science in the Community

Epidemiologists, researchers, and academics are well versed in identifying health problems and suggesting strategies to address these issues.  Often times, these problems and strategies are general to larger populations, rather than specific to local conditions within a given community.  In this traditional research approach wherein knowledge of problems and best practices to mitigate them is delivered to communities, only minimal attention is given to knowledge cultivation, problem identification and response within communities themselves.

Alternatively, use of an active community-based planning process and a structured means to transfer knowledge and cultivate its long-term use would grow the abilities of communities to investigate health problems and leverage assets to address them, ultimately leading to an effective response to their unique health issues. 

Consequently, New Hampshire developed an innovative approach to substance abuse prevention using a two-pronged approach:  1) community-based participatory research to place communities at the center of problem identification and response; and 2) an Action Learning Collaborative model[1] to provide a structured means to transfer knowledge and necessary peer and technical support.  

A series of steps, tools and supports were needed, including a geographic frame of reference for communities, training in community-based participatory research, technical assistance in gathering and understanding local data, guidance on determining contributing factors, literature reviews of best practices, and technical support in logic model and strategic plan development.

A geographic frame of reference had been established in 2007 to incorporate substance abuse community prevention coalitions into ten regions based on current service areas, ensuring involvement of all New Hampshire communities.  The New Hampshire Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation provided each of the regions with resources for community level staff, centralized training and technical support, and other resources necessary to fully engage in the innovative approach. 

Each region recruited community planning teams that participated in the Action Learning Collaborative. The teams collected and reviewed community data, interpreted and questioned the data, formed focus groups to identify causes of substance use, researched effective strategies and developed a strategic plan.  The funding partners reviewed these plans to ensure that an evidence-based and data-driven process was followed and the problems identified and strategic responses proffered ensued in a rational and scientific manner.  The process raised the community’s capacity to use data and research to guide their planning; ultimately moving prevention planning to a science resulting in highly comprehensive strategies. 

This presentation will provide the steps, tools, guidance documents and lessons learned so that participants may apply New Hampshire’s approach to other prevention efforts.

---

[1] The Commonwealth Fund. Improving Health Care Delivery: The "Learning Collaborative" Approach. In. New York, NY: The Commonwealth Fund; 2005

Back to: Community-Based Participatory Research and Prevention

Previous Abstract | Next Abstract >>