186337 Evaluating Community-level Prevention Strategies: Nebraska's State Incentive Grant (SIG)

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Phillip W. Graham, DrPH, MPH , Crime, Violence, and Justice Research Program, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC
Monique Clinton-Sherrod, PhD , RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC
Jason Williams, PhD , Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice Research Division, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC
Belinda Weimer, MA , Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice Research Division, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC
The CSAP State Incentive Grant (SIG) program represents a clear example of prevention science in a “real world setting”. Participating states are encouraged to coordinate or leverage prevention funds and resources, implement a comprehensive, statewide prevention plan, and implement evidence-based strategies in community settings. The promotion and adoption of evidence-based prevention strategies in community settings is achieved in the SIG program through its requirement that 85% of SIG funds are awarded to local community coalitions to implement evidence-based prevention strategies

The purpose of this presentation is to share findings from the evaluation of the state of Nebraska's SIG. The objectives of the present study are to (1) examine whether substance use or substance-related consequences decreased in communities that implemented the SIG programs compared to communities that did not implement the SIG, (2) to investigate the influence of program characteristics (i.e., fidelity, dosage) on aggregated substance use outcomes; and (3) to investigate the influence of coalition characteristics (i.e., leadership, satisfaction) on substance use aggregate level outcomes.

Longitudinal Growth Modeling (LGM) will be applied to three waves of data collected in 2003, 2005, and 2007 to determine the overall impact of the SIG initiative. Results from latent profile analysis (LPA) will also be presented to identify key underlying characteristics of the most effective community coalitions. Findings will provide important insight regarding characteristics associated with program effectiveness in real world settings and will provide a critical test of federal policies requiring implementation of evidence-based strategies via community coalitions.

Learning Objectives:
This presentation attempts to achieve the following learning objectives: (1) To demonstrate the impact of evidence-based strategies (individual and environmental) on adolescent substance use; (2) To demonstrate the utility of advanced analytic techniques such as LGM in evaluating quasi-experimental designs; and (3) To demonstrate the importance of coalition characteristics in explaining community differences

Keywords: Adolescents, Substance Abuse Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the PI on several state-level evaluations examining the effects of evidence-based strategies to reduce substance use.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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