Research Into Action Highlights Effects of Evidence-Based Programs

Implementation of evidence-based programs by community anti-drug coalitions help support the reduction of youth substance abuse, according to a study published recently in Substance Use & Misuse. The study compared substance abuse among 8th and 10th grade students in 19 communities in Kentucky where community coalitions implemented between one and four specific evidence-based programs. Researchers found that 10th graders experienced slightly lower use of cigarettes (37.4% to 29.7%) and alcohol (40.2% to 35.6%) and binge drinking (28.9% to 26.6%). The more positive effects on 10th graders suggest that effects of evidence-based prevention programs may be delayed.

While the study results are encouraging, the study has limitations—it only includes school survey data and does not report on other local data such as emergency room, arrest and school conduct/behavior records, does not describe which combination of evidence-based programs resulted in greater or lesser success and how the addition of environmental strategies would have affected outcomes. While more research is needed, the study suggests that evidence-based prevention programs are one tool of many that coalitions can include in their intervention arsenals.

More on the study and how local anti-drug coalitions can use the information to inform their efforts appears in the October/November 2007 issue of Research into Action.

Research into Action is a free publication which reports on research findings that impact the work of coalitions. Published six times a year by CADCA’s National Coalition Institute, each issue examines what coalitions can do to implement knowledge they gain in their communities. Sign up for your free e-mail subscription on the Coalition Resources page of the National Coalition Institute’s Web site.