Prevention Guidelines: First Steps in Planning an Effective Program
When planning prevention activities, the prevention community faces a tremendous array of decisions-
all of which can influence positive program outcomes. According to Guidelines and Benchmarks for Prevention Programming, program staff should focus on developing an appropriate selection of program criteria to ensure the success of prevention efforts. This alert is the first in a series focusing on prevention planning and programming guidelines.
1. Know your target population. To tailor prevention efforts to satisfy the needs of target populations, consider questions like these:
Who is the target population?
What are the demographics of the population (e.g., gender, age, and geographic location)?
Do prevention planners have experience with and understanding of the target group?
Particular consideration should also be given to the patterns of substance use, cultures, value systems, and the likelihood of positive response to the prevention effort.
2. Develop specific and realistic goals. Setting clear, realistic goals allows a program to move from concept development to implementation in a smooth and measurable manner. When developing general goals, focus should be placed on the potential "reach" of the effort as well as its potential "strength."
The size of the target audience determines a program’s potential reach. For example, enacting a new law or policy may reach thousands or even millions of people. However, when considering the strength--or possible impact of the strategy--the same law may have only a slight effect on individual behaviors. In addition, if it becomes apparent that the prevention goals cannot be achieved, program staff must be willing to adjust the strategy and redirect the program.
3. Look to local, State, and national programs for guidance. The best indication that a prevention effort will work is that it has worked in the past under comparable circumstances. Program staff should gather empirical evidence of effectiveness from other programs to help guide the implementation process.
For example, although early efforts to prevent alcohol-impaired driving focused on establishing harsh jail penalties for drunk drivers, later evidence demonstrated that jail penalties, as a single intervention, had little effect on deterring the public from impaired driving.
Particular emphasis should be placed on the methodological assessments used and the basis on which the evaluation was produced. In this way, early program design benefits from past efforts in the field.
4. Develop a logical conceptual framework as a guide. A solid conceptual framework can guide a program toward its intended goals, suggesting new approaches and applications that may increase outcome measures.
For example, data has shown that students who do poorly in school are more likely to be problem users of alcohol and drugs than students who do well. Research has also linked success in school by at-risk students to bonding with supportive adult mentors. Therefore, a prevention effort that establishes a mentoring program is based on a proven conceptual framework. Key elements of such a framework should include ongoing updated information from the field; issues of causation versus correlation; a focus on motivation to use alcohol, tobacco, and drugs; and factors that link prevention with current use.
Source: Adapted by CSAP from Guidelines and Benchmarks for Prevention Programming (1997). 57 pp. SMA 95-3033.
To receive a complimentary copy of this PreventionAlert, call SAMSHA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) @ 1-800-729-6686, TDD 1-800-487-4889 (for the hearing impaired.)
PREVENTIONAlert is supported by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and may be copied without permission with appropriate citation. For information about PREVENTIONAlert, please contact CSAP by phone (301) 443-0581 or e-mail gensley@samhsa.gov
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