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Substance use disorders in older adults pose a significant and increasing concern for public health concern in the United States. While risk of adverse effects ranging from medical to psychiatric to social are higher for this group, older adults are increasingly reporting use of a wide variety of substances including alcohol, opioids, cannabis, cocaine, and heroin.
Informed by trends in youth suicide prevention interventions specified in national, state, and local programming, this literature review provides an introduction to the field of youth suicide prevention.
Suicide is a global public health issue for which a variety of approaches have been identified for prevention efforts (Cross et al., 2010). This research review offers a variety of perspectives on suicide prevention and brief interventions.
Between 5 to 8% of adolescents attempt suicide each year (Wyman et al., 2010). Yet, suicide among elderly persons happens at higher rates than younger people in many countries (Lapierre et al., 2011). Prevention of suicide rates is therefore a public health challenge that needs to be addressed with interventions that show their effects, safety, and cost-effectiveness (Wei et al., 2015). The articles in this review examine suicide prevention studies for adolescents and older adults.
Identifying and implementing effective implementations with the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF). A review of the research.
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an unprecedented strain on health care systems and upended routine facets of everyday life, posing a particularly critical threat to individuals suffering from mental health and substance abuse concerns, and complicating suicide prevention efforts. Assessing the effectiveness of current interventions and adapting approaches to meet these challenges are critical to arrest and rollback progressing COVID-19 health crises in these populations. Recent research examines the pandemic’s effects on current intervention efforts, offers recommendations for present and future policy changes, and provides lessons for productive responses.
A literature review for online intervention methods for substance abuse
A Review of Recent Research, Part II
Recruiting and retention are at the heart of any successful public health program, but successful recruiting is a more involved process than many programs anticipate–or budget for. Research shows that the children and families most in need of human services are the least likely to receive them and 40-60% of recruits to human service programs drop out after a few sessions. (Barnes-Proby, D., Schultz, D., Jaycox, L., & Ayer, L. 2017). Recruiting and retention efforts must be ongoing if they are to be successful. It's not enough to develop and offer a program; you must actively and consistently work to recruit and retain participants throughout the duration of the program.
The virtual environment offers public health programs unique advantages and disadvantages for recruiting and retaining participants. Meeting participants in person has always come with challenges such as time commitment, scheduling conflicts, and childcare and transportation costs. While online engagement can alleviate many of these barriers, the technology itself can present new obstacles. Community members may have limited access to wifi (i.e., wireless broadband) and connected devices necessary for virtual engagement, and many technology platforms often come with a learning curve or require a high degree of digital literacy to use, disproportionately impacting non-English speaking and low literacy community members. Planners should consider carefully their goals and let those goals drive their technology decisions (Local Housing Solutions, 2021).
Targeted intervention programs for substance use and mental health can be effective at shifting adolescent behavior and decreasing symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, due to barriers of cost and time, it can be difficult to implement in-person programs. This literature review examines the possibilities and best practices for online intervention programs
Increasing movements from practitioners, policymakers, and researchers have sought to engage community members in public health interventions. These efforts have advanced community engagement as a useful strategy for improving people’s health and enabling those who lack power to gain control over their lives. Recent research has evaluated the methods and effectiveness of intervention programs to support their development and implementation.
Increasing movements from practitioners, policymakers, and researchers have sought to engage community members in public health interventions. These efforts have advanced community engagement as a useful strategy for improving people’s health and enabling those who lack power to gain control over their lives. Recent research has evaluated the methods and effectiveness of intervention programs to support their development and implementation.
While public health media messages can rely on elaborate marketing mass media campaigns, alternative approaches are necessary to reach audiences that do not access health information through written communication (AMC Cancer Research Center, 1994), or via digital media. This review, therefore, presents examples of media messaging practices using analog or “low-tech” strategies to communicate or market public health behaviors.
Stakeholder engagement has gained increasing recognition as a crucial component of successful public health efforts. Effective planning and implementation in engaging stakeholders can lead to more meaningful and enduring outcomes in confronting health challenges. Current research on reaching and utilizing stakeholders indicates that innovative approaches to community health problems which incorporate stakeholders can produce more efficient and impactful programs.
Smartphone apps, GPS tracking, and geofencing are emerging as promising primary and secondary substance use prevention and management tools that can help avert and reduce substance abuse and its consequences, aid in maintaining gains made in treatment, and prevent the onset of more serious problems.
Will anything be due to RTI for the current year's evaluation (there was an online survey in past years) or just the Annual Report?
The only items that should be sent to RTI directly for this year’s evaluation are the completed individual strategy pre- and post-surveys. However, all providers are still required to submit all other evaluation instruments and reports (e.g. End of Year Reports) as required by DBHDD and your RPS.
Will RTI match case IDs for individual pre- and post-surveys in the Excel file sent to providers?
As RTI is only analyzing aggregated data at the cross-site level, pre- and post-surveys will only be matched at the provider level. Each provider will receive a full sequence of case IDs for both the pre- and post-surveys. If providers track which participant completes which case ID identified surveys, they will be able to match and analyze matched surveys at the individual level. RTI will not monitor any possible individual matching of survey participants.
Please note that the matching process poses additional risks to the confidentiality of the student data and may require additional Institutional Review Board approval or other research approval from your organization, your evaluator’s organization (e.g. a university), or the organization where you collect data (e.g., a school system).
Our intervention addresses prescription drugs and marijuana in addition to alcohol. Will the individual surveys be able to capture the information about these other substances? Will we be able to substitute the substance that we want to measure?
Yes. There are questions related to prescription drug misuse and marijuana use on the High School version and the Parent version of the individual survey. There is no question related to prescription drugs on the Middle School version. It is not possible to substitute prescription drugs with another substance of choice, as the surveys are already standardized, formatted, and programmed.
Is there an e-cigarette question on all individual surveys? Providers request these on both youth and the parent version, as it is important to assess whether parents are modeling e-cigarette behaviors.
No. There is a question that includes e-cigarettes on the Middle School and the High School versions of the individual strategy survey. There is no question regarding e-cigarettes on the Parent version of the survey.
At the end of the year, will RTI be able to provide analyzed or raw data to the providers?
RTI will only analyze data in aggregate at the cross-site level, and cannot analyze data for individual providers. Raw data from the Georgia ASAPP Individual Strategy Surveys will be returned to providers in the form of an Excel file on a quarterly basis.
The surveys presented are all specific for individual level strategies. Will there be a survey for environmental level strategies? How are environmental strategy surveys to be handled? Should providers send them to the evaluation team before using them? Will you offer any TA around evaluating positive social norms (PSN) campaigns?
We understand that some providers may want to implement their own environmental strategy surveys to assess community-level outcomes. RTI has not developed a survey for environmental strategies at this time. However, we can provide some technical assistance if you wish to develop your own. We may be able to 1) provide some guidance on implementing your environmental strategy surveys, 2) develop a general item bank from which providers can select items to develop their own surveys, or 3) provide assistance in developing a standardized, scannable survey form that can be administered by providers who wish to administer environmental strategy surveys. Please complete a TA request via ECCO if you would like assistance developing an environmental strategy survey.
My individual strategy comes with pre- and post-surveys. Are we to disregard these surveys and just use those provided by RTI?
You must use the pre- and post-surveys developed by RTI, as they are required for the cross-site evaluation. You may also use the surveys obtained as part of your individual strategy, but they should only be used for your own evaluation of your program. The data from these surveys will not be analyzed by RTI.
Our program serves some elementary school children. What survey should they use?
We do not recommend using the current surveys for youth under 10 years old. If your sample consists of both youth under the age of 10 and youth 10 and older, you should administer the survey attached to the curriculum for the youth under 10 years old and the “GA ASAPP State Evaluation: Individual Strategy Survey” Middle school version to the youth 10 and older.
If there is no other survey available (e.g. one associated with the chosen curriculum), and the entire sample consists of youth under the age of 10, do not administer the Middle School version of the survey. Please send a TA request via ECCO if you work with youth under 10 so that we can develop an appropriate evaluation plan.
Will there be an electronic version of the individual surveys?
Yes. RTI developed an online version of the individual strategy surveys using REDCap. Information on how to access the online versions of the surveys is outlined in the Data Collection & Submission Procedures document.
How long will it take to receive paper surveys after they are requested?
Once a Survey Request Form is received, expect to receive the paper surveys in the mail within 15 business days. Providers are advised to request paper surveys at least 3 weeks before they are needed. This information is outlined in the Data Collection & Submission Procedures document.
How do I request individual survey forms?
All providers have received the Georgia ASAPP Individual Strategy Survey Request Form. In addition, it is available at: http://resources.ga-sps.org (see under “evaluation”). Providers should complete the form and send it as a TA request via ECCO.
Providers also received detailed instructions for requesting and submitting completed surveys in the Georgia ASAPP Evaluation: Data Collection & Submission Procedures document which is also available at: http://resources.ga-sps.org (see under “evaluation”).
I ran out of surveys. Can I just copy my last blank one to hand out?
NO. Each survey has two ID numbers on it that are necessary for processing and analysis. One ID is unique to each provider, which will be used for pairing each pre- and post-survey to that provider. The other is a unique case ID unique that is specific to each completed survey. No two surveys will have the same case ID printed on them. Therefore, providers should not photocopy the surveys. Please make sure to request additional surveys BEFORE you run out.
How long is the individual strategy survey?
There are three versions of individual surveys. The Middle School version of the survey contains 18 questions; the High School version has 20 questions; and the Parent version has 21 questions.
Will the slides from the “Office Hour” sessions be available for download?
Yes. We will make sure the slides are available to OBHP (including all the information we are presenting at the regional provider meetings). Your RPS will let you know where to find those.
If a Provider cannot spend all of his/her funds for FY2017, can they be carried over into next year? If not, what are some suggestions for spending down the available funds?
No funds cannot be carried over to another contract year. Please speak individually with your RPS concerning funding.
Does attending the SAPST training in Macon count as the required conference within the contract for FY2017
Yes, this training will for the FY17 contract year.
Will future regional meetings have the option for web capability if a Provider is unable to attend in-person?
We can accommodate with a conference line. However, providers are welcome to use their own technology to web conference with staff at their agencies who are unable to attend the meeting.
What types of questions should be entered into ECCO for technical assistance versus what types of questions should be directed towards the Regional Prevention Specialist (RPS)
The questions entered in ECCO should be questions concerning the strategies, process, implementation of the project. Any programmatic, invoice related or budget questions should be directed to your RPS.