Creating research based local needs assessments in a rural and frontier state

In 2004 Wyoming began implementation of the Federal Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant by first completing a state level needs assessment and then funding 24 grantee communities to complete local needs assessments. Based upon research that outlines a general community systems model to guide prevention, these community needs assessments not only identify the most important substance-related problems but also prioritize underlying contributing factors. Specifically, the proposed community systems model identifies seven causal areas for substance abuse. This presentation describes how researchers at the Wyoming Survey & Analysis Center applied this research-driven model in small rural and frontier communities to help prevention providers create comprehensive needs assessments, make data-driven decisions, and choose effective prevention strategies. Wyoming communities gather local data surrounding each of these areas to determine what factors are the most critical contributors to their substance-related problems and then strategically target these key causes. The presentation also demonstrates how needs assessments can be used as the foundation for community level change rather than individual level change. This final aspect is very important as the substance abuse prevention field moves from a focus on programs that impact individuals to a focus upon policies, practices, and programs that impact communities as a whole; and, from evaluations with an individual unit of analysis to evaluations with a community unit of analysis.