Session: Implications of Data Access and Use for Community Coalitions (Society for Prevention Research 25th Annual Meeting)

In the symposium, we will present efforts of state and community partners to collaboratively strengthen substance abuse prevention across the state. Substance abuse is well understood to have substantial negative influences (SAMHSA, 2001). The Division of Substance Abuse Services (DSAS) within the Tennessee Department of Mental Health Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) is responsible for addressing these and other substance abuse related issues at the state level. DSAS has utilized SAMHSA block grant funding to promote implementation of effective environmental prevention strategies by community coalitions. Use of environmental strategies at the community-level acknowledges not only individual level factors contributing to substance use and abuse but also critically the social, institutional, cultural, and political factors. This public health approach to substance use prevention raises different issues of capacitythan does the delivery of prevention programs by discrete organizations targeting narrowly defined populations.

DSAS-funded coalitions are expected to use the five steps of the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) to guide planning and implementation of evidence-based environmental prevention strategies (i.e., needs assessment, capacity building, planning, implementation, evaluation). This approach relies in large part on partnerships at the state and local levels.

In this symposium, DSAS and macro-level partners EMT and Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, describe Tennessee’s approach to state and community prevention efforts that emphasize two key features of the SPF in reducing the burden of substance use: partnerships and the use of data. The first two papers focus on community-level prevention efforts. In the first paper, Peabody researchers present findings from qualitative interviews with coalition staff that identify capacity building needs around the access and use of data sources for data-driven decision-making by community coalitions. In the second paper, EMT researchers examine a number of significant issues related data use that impede implementation of the SPF in practice, but that may be resolved through active technical support to enhance data access and promote data use capacity at the state and community levels. In the final paper, from a more macro, state-level perspective, DSAS examines how collaboration and coordination of statewide specialty groups is necessary for effective use of data in identifying potential gaps as well as promising programs. Following the paper presentations, we will outline common themes, emerging issues linking this research and the existing literature, and facilitate an interactive discussion with session attendees.