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Session Title: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Community Prevention Coalitions: An Interim Report on the Evaluation of the Drug-free Communities Support Program

Panel Session 347 to be held in Pratt Room, Section B on Thursday, November 8, 11:15 AM to 12:45 PM

Sponsored by the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health TIG

Chair(s):

David payday loan  Chavis payday loan ,  Association for the Study and Development of Community,  dchavis@capablecommunity.com

Discussant(s):

Kenneth payday loan  Shapiro payday loan ,  Office of National Drug Control Policy,  kshapiro@ondcp.eop.gov

Abstract: While the use of coalitions to prevent disease and promote health has been popular for many years, the evaluations of such initiatives are extremely challenging. The proposed panel will discuss how the program evaluation of the Drug-Free Communities Support Program addresses some of the unique challenges of evaluating community prevention coalitions through the use of a typology that captures how coalitions develop or mature over time and an innovative statistical technique to compare communities with and without Drug-Free Community Coalitions. In addition to using innovative methodology, this panel will present preliminary findings about the capacities and characteristics of Coalitions that are making positive public health changes in their community. These preliminary findings significantly improve our field's understanding of how Coalitions can facilitate community change to reduce substance abuse. Finally, the panel will conclude with a discussion of how this evaluation has addressed the challenges associated with using self-reported data.

How Do You Evaluate Community Prevention Coalitions?: Design of the Evaluation of Drug-free Communities Support Program Jeanine payday loan  Christian payday loan ,  Battelle Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation,  christianj@battelle.org The Office of National Drug Control Policy funds the Drug-Free Communities Support Program and its evaluation. The Program is designed to build community capacity to prevent substance abuse among our nation's youth through Community Anti-Drug Coalitions. This presentation provides an overview of the design of the program evaluation. The specific objectives of the evaluation are to: (1) Assess whether the program has made an impact on reducing the substance abuse outcomes at the community, state, and national level; (2) Assess whether Drug-Free Community Coalitions have increased the capacity and effectiveness of coalitions; and (3) Identify specific factors that contribute to Coalitions' ability to prevent substance abuse. This presentation will also introduce key components of the evaluation which will be discussed in greater detail in other panel presentations.

Framework for a Typology of Community Substance Abuse Prevention Coalitions Joie payday loan  Acosta payday loan ,  Association for the Study and Development of Community,  jacosta@capablecommunity.com Central, and unique, to the evaluation of the Drug-Free Communities Support Program is the recognition that Coalitions develop or mature over time. To capture this development, the evaluation team reviewed the scientific literature and consulted with experts and Coalition leaders, to develop a typology to classify Coalitions into one of four 'stages of development' (i.e., Establishing, Functioning, Maturing, and Sustaining). The purpose of the typology is to aid in the evaluation of the program in three ways: first, by identifying how Coalitions evolve in their abilities to reduce substance abuse; second, by identifying how they institutionalize these capacities to help communities come together to prevent substance abuse and related problems; and third, by identifying how effectively they focus activities on environmental change and capacity building. This presentation will discuss the development of the typology and its application to the evaluation of the program.

A Nationwide Comparison of Communities With and Without Drug-Free Community Coalitions Ben payday loan  Pierce payday loan ,  Battelle Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation,  pierceb@battelle.org The Drug-Free Communities Support Program is based on the assumption that communities with Drug-Free Community Coalitions will more effectively address the substance abuse problems in their community. Therefore, to assess the effectiveness of the program it is critical to compare communities with and without Drug-Free Community Coalitions. However, this comparison cannot be done using traditional methods because they assume that all Coalitions are implementing the same strategies in the same way under the same circumstances. Drug-Free Community Coalitions are in 49 states, target different sized and overlapping populations, and focus on a broad range of outcomes. In response, the evaluation team developed an innovative statistical technique, comparing state and national trends with local trends and patterns across sites, in order to address the lack of an appropriate control or comparison group. This presentation will focus on the development and application of this innovative statistical technique.

Examining Effectiveness: What are the Characteristics of Successful Coalitions in the Drug-Free Communities Support Program? David payday loan  Chavis payday loan ,  Association for the Study and Development of Community,  dchavis@capablecommunity.com The success of the Drug-Free Communities Support Program will be determined by its ability to reduce substance abuse in communities. Many Drug-Free Community Coalitions have been successful in achieving positive outcomes in their target communities, but little is known about the capacities and other characteristics associated with these Coalitions. A preliminary analysis was conducted to learn about the capacities and other characteristics associated with successful Coalitions, as determined by having significant, faster rates of reduction of 30-day past use of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco compared to the average coalition. Characteristics of Drug-Free Community Coalitions that had significantly faster rates of reduction in alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use for the youth in their community in one or more of the three targeted substances (i.e., alcohol, tobacco, marijuana) will be discussed. These findings support the developmental framework of the Drug-Free Communities Program evaluation, such that Coalitions may become more successful as they develop their capacities.

Navigating the Challenges of Evaluating Community Prevention Coalitions Jennifer payday loan  Mason payday loan ,  Battelle Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation,  malsonj@battelle.org The national evaluation of the Drug-Free Communities Support Program offers a unique set of barriers and challenges to even the most seasoned evaluation veteran. The last presentation in this panel will provide an in-depth exploration into the challenges associated with the evaluation of this community-based program. The role of diversity in implementation, reliance on self-report data, navigating the evaluation though the eyes of multiple stakeholders, considerations associated with noncompliance and data collection will be discussed. Time will also be spent describing how the evaluation team countered each of these challenges with evolving and innovative strategies. Despite the challenges, the evaluation has the potential to demonstrate not only if and how Drug-Free Community Coalitions reduce substance abuse outcomes, and will make an important contribution to the science of prevention and evaluation.