Cross-site evaluation of Young Adults in the Workplace (YIW) initiative: Workplace-based substance abuse prevention programs

The Young Adults in the Workplace (YIW) initiative is a study of the effectiveness of workplace-based substance abuse prevention and early intervention programs for young adults aged 16 to 24. The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention funded 6 grantees to implement these programs, and the cross-site evaluation of this multisite, multiprotocol initiative broadens SAMHSA's workplace prevention initiatives by generating empirically-based knowledge about a diverse set of interventions and their functionality within a variety of workplace populations and contexts. The evaluation plan provides a comprehensive understanding of how the YIW interventions were implemented, the effects they had on employees, and the value they provided to employers. To accomplish this, the cross-site infrastructure supported three interrelated evaluation efforts: a process, an outcome, and an economic evaluation. This presentation will discuss the specific methodologies for each of these evaluations as they were applied to the multisite, multiprotocol YIW program and results from each of the evaluations. The process evaluation will be described with particular focus on the methodology of analyzing common and unique components of interventions in the cross-site framework and lessons learned from implementing YIW Programs. The presentation will also describe how a dismantling design approach is appropriate for and is being tailored to the YIW program within the outcome evaluation and results from the outcome evaluation. Finally, it will explain the activity-based costing approach for the economic evaluation, why it is appropriate and the findings from the cross-site evaluation related to the economic costs and benefits to the YIW programs.