Bridging the gap between science and practice in drug abuse prevention through needs assessment and strategic community planning

Abstract

Despite advances in knowledge about factors that predict substance abuse and interventions that have been effective at preventing alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use among adolescents, the prevalence of drug use and abuse among American adolescents and young adults remains alarmingly high. The U.S. government spent $2.45 billion in 1999 on drug abuse prevention services and research, yet there is little evidence these expenditures are achieving meaningful reductions in the prevalence of drug abuse. It is estimated that drug abuse costs American society more than $250 billion per year, and these cost are increasing. Translating the expanding scientific knowledge base for effective preventive interventions into widespread practice that can achieve reductions in the prevalence of drug abuse in this country is a pressing policy issue. This article examines recent advances in prevention science and discusses how this knowledge base can be applied to the development of strategic, science-based community prevention systems. Methods for assessing the need for drug abuse prevention services among populations of children and adolescents are reviewed, and the utility of these methods for guiding strategic community prevention planning is examined. It is argued that strategic community prevention systems focusing science-based interventions on predictors of drug use and abuse that are prevalent among youth in the community hold promise for reducing the prevalence of drug abuse and related problems. Strategies for supporting strategic community prevention planning utilizing science-based preventive interventions are discussed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.