Prevention Terminology

California Prevention Collaborative

Created by CSAP's Western Center for the

Application of Prevention Technologies

Funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention

ABC -- the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the state agency
responsible for licensing and regulation of alcoholic beverages.

Activity -- a time-limited task, usually involving direct experience and
participation of a student or students.

Alternative Activities -- provides for the participation of target
populations in activities that exclude drug use. The assumption is that
because constructive and healthy activities offset the attraction to
drugs, or otherwise meet the needs usually filled by drugs, then the
population would avoid using drugs. Examples include: drug-free social
and recreational activities; drug-free dances and parties; youth and
adult leadership activities; community drop-in centers; community
service activities; and mentoring programs.

ATOD -- alcohol, tobacco and other drugs

Application -- the process of converting information into scientifically
sound, practical procedures that can be used effectively by prevention
practitioners.

BAC -- blood alcohol content

Best practices -- strategies, activities, approaches, or programs shown
through research and evaluation to be effective at preventing and/or
delaying substance abuse.

CADCA -- Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America

CDC -- Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Community Action Groups -- also known as Community-Based Coalitions, are
nonprofit groups formed to bring about large-scale prevention efforts in
communities. Their success depends on enlisting others with skills and
resources to achieve their objectives. MADD is a well-known example.

Community-Based Processes -- aims to enhance the ability of the
community to more effectively provide prevention and treatment services
for drug abuse disorders. Activities in this strategy include
organizing, planning, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of
service implementation, building coalitions and networking. Examples of
methods used for this strategy include the following: community and
volunteer training; systematic planning; multi-agency coordination and
collaboration; accessing service and funding; and community team
building.

Coverage -- the extent to which the program is serving the intended
target population.

CSAP -- the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the federal agency
responsible for alcohol and other drug prevention initiatives.

Cultural Competence -- understanding and appreciating the cultural
differences and similarities within, among, and between groups,
including values, norms, traditions, customs, arts, history, folklore,
music, and institutions. This requires both the willingness and the
ability to draw on community-based values, traditions, and customs.

CUP -- Conditional Use Permit, a local zoning ordinance that permits
local review of proposed alcohol beverage outlets, with the ability to
place preventive conditions of operation on the use, such as earlier
closing times, lighting, less window advertising, use of security
guards, etc.

DEA -- Drug Enforcement Administration

Decoys -- decoy operations are also called "stings." Decoys are minors
who attempt to purchase alcohol products while under the supervision of
law enforcement agencies; may result in citations for sales to minors.

Decision Support System (DSS) -- a new CSAP funded project to create and
deploy a highly interactive program accessed through the World Wide Web.
The DSS will provide rapid access to all the content areas and methods
needed by a prevention practitioner. Examples include, but are not
limited to: assess local needs and resources; choose an effective
science-based prevention intervention program to help meet local program
needs; view the intervention program manuals and evaluation measures;
obtain schedules for useful staff trainings; code and analyze the
selected prevention program's process and outcome data; and write useful
reports about the program results in the formats required by various
funding sources. (See
[www.preventionDSS.org](http://www.preventionDSS.org/))

DFSCA -- Drug Free Schools and Communities Act

Dissemination of Information -- provides information about the nature
and extent of drug use, abuse, addiction, and the effects on
individuals, families, and communities. It also provides information of
available prevention programs and services. The dissemination of
information is characterized by one-way communication from the source to
the audience, with limited contact between the two. Examples of methods
used for this strategy include the following: clearinghouses and other
information resource centers; resource directories; media campaigns;
brochures; radio and television public service announcements; speaking
engagements; and health fairs.

Drug -- includes alcohol, tobacco and other drugs such as marijuana and
cocaine.

Effectiveness -- the improvement in health outcome that a prevention
strategy can produce in typical community-based settings.

Efficiency -- a measure of the relationship between inputs and outputs
in a prevention strategy. Efficiency goes beyond effectiveness of a
prevention strategy by attempting to identify the maximum health output
achievable for a set amount of resources.

Empowerment Evaluation -- evaluation that is designed to support program
participants and staff in self-evaluation of their own programs (a form
of internal evaluation).

EMT -- Evaluation, Training & Management Inc., an organization
contracted to provide prevention technical assistance (TA) and training
in California.

Environmental Prevention -- seeks to establish or change community
standards, codes, and attitudes, thereby influencing the incidence and
prevalence of drug abuse in the general population. Examples include:
the establishment and review of drug policies in schools; technical
assistance to communities to maximize local enforcement procedures
governing the availability and distribution of drugs; the review and
modification of alcohol and tobacco advertising practices; and product
pricing strategies.

Evaluation -- systematic collection, analysis, and use of program
information for multiple purposes, including monitoring, program
improvement, outcome assessment, planning, and policy-making.

Exemplary Practices -- those which long-term empirical research and
evaluation have documented to be effective in reducing AOD use or
violence (CDE definition).

Experimental Design -- Research that compares a group of
randomly-selected subjects who receive the treatment (the experimental
group), with a group of comparable subjects who do not (the control
group).

External Evaluation -- evaluation done by consultants or researchers not
working for the same organization as the program.

Formative Evaluation -- evaluation that is designed to collect
information that can be used for continuous program improvement.

FNL -- Friday Night Live, youth-focused prevention organized through
chapters in California.

Fortified Alcohol Products -- fortified wines (short dogs) and fortified
beers (malt liquor) are products with high alcohol content, often a
single being the equivalent of five mixed drinks. These cheap products
are geared to homeless persons, young people, and people of color.

Goal -- a broad philosophical statement of what the prevention program
aims to accomplish.

Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) -- enacted in 1993 to hold
federal agencies accountable for achieving program results, it's
provisions were phased in over the years and became fully effective in
FY 1999. The law places increased emphasis on evaluation and the
collection and reporting of performance data, particularly outcome data.
The performance reporting requirements of this law may result in the
need to request additional data, including client outcome data where
appropriate, from funded programs.

Guiding Principles -- recommendations on how to create effective
prevention programs. When a community already has a prevention program
or strategy in place, the guiding principles can be used to gauge the
program\'s potential effectiveness. They can also be used to design an
innovative program/strategy when none of the best practices are
appropriate to the community\'s needs.

Health Communications -- the crafting and delivery of messages and
strategies, based on consumer research, to promote the health of
individuals and communities.

Impact Evaluation -- achieves the purpose of learning whether the
program "works." Impact evaluations, sometimes called "summative"
evaluations, are focused on demonstrated program outcomes only (although
outcome evaluation is often done in tandem with impact evaluation).

Impacts -- usually used to refer to long-term program outcomes.

Indicated Prevention Strategies -- efforts are aimed at individuals who
may already display signs of substance use/abuse. These types of
programs provide intensive programming for individuals in order to
prevent the onset of regular or heavy substance abuse.

Input -- resources available to the program, including money, staff
time, volunteer time, etc.

IOM -- Institute of Medicine (See Prevention Program Classification)

Intermediate Measure -- the measure most directly associated with the
intervention being evaluated, generally reported in terms of the service
delivered, e.g., number of web hits, number of technical assistance
deliveries.

Internal Evaluation -- evaluation done by staff within the same
organizational structure as the program.

Knowledge Brokers -- move useful information from one location to apply
it in others. Brokers are usually found in government agencies, or in
consulting groups.

Knowledge Experts -- create and refine knowledge as their professional
work. Experts are usually found in university and research-laboratory
settings. One of their great values is to be critical of conventional
wisdom.

Knowledge Seekers -- lack knowledge and seek it out or invent it for
themselves. Seekers are usually found at the field level where
innovation and action are frequently required.

Knowledge Transfer -- those efforts designed to move newly developed as
well as underutilized prevention knowledge (i.e., theory, practices, and
policies) from the "report stage" following completion of research into
practical, useful guidance and application approaches for those working
in the field.

Local Control -- local city or county governments have many powers to
establish laws and policies about alcohol and tobacco products. Local
control refers to this arena of local policymaking.

Logic Model -- a flowchart or graphic display representing the logical
connections between program activities and program goals.

Media Advocacy -- the strategic use of media as a resource for advancing
the social or public policy initiative. This focus is on collective
behavior change, including norms and policies, instead of on individual
behavior change.

Meta-analysis -- a study in which the empirical findings from many
summative evaluations are standardized in a way that permits a single
summative evaluation of their collective results. This process allows
the measures of change or differences between groups to be standardized
by controlling for sample size and standard deviation of the changes. In
this way, conclusions about the size of effects across many studies can
be estimated.

Model Programs -- prevention programs that have been rigorously
evaluated and have repeatedly demonstrated positive outcomes.

Monitoring -- a type of evaluation designed to ensure that program
activities are being implemented as planned (e.g., the number of
participants, number of hours, type of activities, etc).

Multivariate analysis -- a statistical term referring to analyses that
involve a number of different variables. For example, an analysis that
looks at whether peer factors and individual factors both influence
alcohol use would be called \"multivariate\".

NAPAFASA -- National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance
Abuse, Inc.

NASADAD -- National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Directors

National Prevention Network (NPN) -- a membership organization of state
prevention coordinators.

National Prevention System (NPS) -- the NPS is a composite of a myriad
of public and private sector organizations having interest,
responsibilities, and activities designed to reduce substance abuse in
America. The NPS includes Federal, State, and local governments,
businesses, national, and local organizations. It involves prevention
researchers and providers, both those who are specialists in substance
abuse prevention and practitioners from health and social service
organizations who may influence substance abuse behavior or its
precursors among their clientele. At the local level, community
coalitions, civic organizations, youth serving organizations, employers,
and parent groups are largely responsible for designing, delivering, and
sustaining substance abuse prevention efforts. (see
[www.preventionsystem.org](http://www.preventionsystem.org/))

National Registry of Effective Prevention Programs (NREPP) -- this is a
CSAP supported activity to gather nominations of examples of prevention
programs that may be reviewed for their scientific merits and
effectiveness. Programs discovered to have substantial evidence of
scientific merit and effectiveness may be selected as "best and
promising practice models" for dissemination and application. (see
<http://www.samhsa.gov/centers/csap/csap.html>)

NCADI -- CSAP's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information
acts as the central point within the Federal Government for current
print and audiovisual materials about alcohol, tobacco, and other drug
problems.

NCAP -- National Center for the Advancement of Prevention

NIAAA -- National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

NIDA -- National Institute on Drug Abuse

NPN -- National Prevention Network

Objective -- the way(s) in which each goal will be achieved. Objectives
are measurable and smaller in scope than goals.

OJJDP -- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

ONDCP -- Office of National Drug Control Policy

Opportunity Analysis -- the process of identifying naturally occurring
opportunities for partnering or collaborating on transfer and
utilization efforts with other organizations. The object of opportunity
analysis is to identify organizations who are already doing, or clearly
want to do, work in a mutual area of interest and who have already
committed some planning or resources in that direction. The analysis
uncovers situations where a transfer agent can easily fit their transfer
interest into activities the organization is already engaged in, or is
likely to publicize, or disseminate widely.

Outcome -- ways in which the participants of a prevention program could
be expected to change at the conclusion of the program (e.g., increases
in knowledge, changes in attitudes or behavior, etc.).

Outcome Evaluation -- achieves the purpose of assessing the immediate
changes that are expected for the individuals, organizations, and/or
communities involved.

Output -- the immediate products or activities of a program.

Participatory Evaluation -- evaluation that involves key stakeholders in
the design, data collection, and interpretation of evaluation methods.

Performance Indicators -- target benchmarks that show if a program's
goals and objectives are being achieved. Performance indicators can be
measured by specific data collected through assessment or survey tools.

Prevention -- while there is no single definition of prevention there is
general agreement among prevention practitioners on the overall goal of
prevention. It is to foster a climate in which:

-   alcohol use is acceptable only for those of legal age and only when
    the risk of adverse consequences is minimal;

-   prescription and over-the-counter drugs are used only for the
    purposes for which they were intended;

-   other abusable substances (e.g., gasoline or aerosols) are used only
    for their intended purposes; and

-   illegal drugs and tobacco are not used at all.

Prevention Education -- involves two-way communication and is
distinguished from merely disseminating information by the fact that
it's based on an interaction between the educator and the participants.
Activities under this strategy aim to affect critical life and social
skills, including decision making, refusal skills, and critical analysis
(e.g., of media messages). Examples of methods used for this strategy
include: classroom and small group sessions; parenting and family
management classes; peer leader and peer helper programs; education
programs for youth groups; and groups for children of substance abusers.

Prevention/Intervention Program Classification (as defined by the
Institute of Medicine -- IOM) -- a system that can be used as a way to
organize prevention/intervention programs and match them to the needs of
the targeted populations. According to this classification system,
prevention and intervention programs can represent universal, selective,
and indicated efforts.

Process Evaluation -- evaluation that is designed to document what
programs actually do: program activities, participants, resources, and
other outputs. Process evaluation is also sometimes called "monitoring,"
and is usually done for the sole purpose of documenting whether a
program is being implemented as planned.

Problem Identification and Referral -- aims to identify those who have
indulged in the illegal use of drugs in order to assess if their
behavior can be reversed through education. It should be noted, however,
that this strategy does not include any activity designed to determine
if an individual is in need of treatment. Examples of methods used for
this strategy include the following: driving-while-intoxicated education
programs; employee assistance programs; and student assistance programs.

Program -- a planned, coordinated group of activities or projects
designed for a specific purpose. A program may include multiple
projects.

Project -- a planned set of tasks or activities designed for a specific
purpose.

Promising Practices -- strategies, activities, approaches, or programs
for which the level of certainty from available evidence is too low to
support generalized conclusions, but for which there is some empirical
basis for predicting that further research could support such
conclusions.

Protective Factors -- conditions that buffer young people from the
negative consequences of exposure to risks by either reducing the impact
of the risk or changing the way a person responds to the risk. Enhancing
protective factors can reduce the likelihood of problem behaviors
arising.

PSA -- Public Service Announcement, including radio or television public
services messages.

Public Health -- the science of 1) preventing disease, 2) prolonging
life, 3) promoting health and efficiency through organized community
effort and application of public resources.

Public Health Model -- an approach that emphasizes the reciprocal
relationships and interactions between the host (individual consumer),
the agent (alcohol, tobacco or other drug), and the environment
(social/physical context of use).

Qualitative Data -- information that is reported in narrative form or
which is based on narrative information, such as written descriptions of
programs, testimonials, open-ended responses to questions, etc.

Quantitative Data -- information that is reported in numerical form,
such as test scores, number of people attending, drop-out rates, etc.

Quasi-experimental Design -- research where experimental and control
groups are not randomly assigned, or when the intervention has already
taken place.

RADAR Network Centers -- affiliated with NCADI, CSAP's Regional Alcohol
and Drug Awareness Resource Centers operate in every State and U.S.
Territory and perform many of the same services as NCADI while offering
state and local resource expertise.

Resiliency Factors -- these are factors (e.g., community, environment,
family environment, constitutional strengths, personality of the child)
that may be taught or instilled in children and can provide some
protection to youth at high risk for substance abuse problems. Their
impact varies along the developmental process. Examples include: strong
bonds with the family; experience of parental monitoring with clear
rules of conduct within the family unit and involvement of parents in
the lives of their children; success in school performance; strong bonds
with prosocial institutions such as the family, school, and religious
organizations; and adoption of conventional norms about substance use.

Risk Factors -- characteristics, variables, or hazards that, if present
for a given individual, make it more likely that this individual, rather
than someone selected from the general population, will develop a
disorder.

SAMHSA -- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

SAPST -- Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist Training (curriculum
developed by the Western CAPT)

Science-Based Information -- that which has been identified and/or
substantiated through an expert consensus or analytic process using
commonly agreed upon criteria for rating research endeavors.
Additionally, conceptual or exact replications add to the credibility
that findings, principles, or models are effective.

Scientific Research -- systematic, controlled, empirical, and critical
investigation of hypothetical propositions about the presumed relations
among natural phenomena.

SDFSCA -- Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. This was
signed into federal law in 1994 and is designed to support the goal that
all schools have a safe, disciplined, and drug-free environment that is
conducive to learning.

Selective Prevention Strategies -- target those who are at
greater-than-average risk for substance abuse. The targeted individuals
are identified on the basis of the nature and number of risk factors for
substance abuse to which they may be exposed.

Situational Analysis -- a process in which an organization reaches a
consensus on a shared vision or programmatic outcome, assesses their
capacity and readiness to achieve that vision or outcome, and creates a
plan for learning and implementation of a new technology.

Social Bonding -- some studies have shown that young people who
establish a bond with societal norms and standards are less likely to
use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. The elements of social bonding
that prevent ATOD use are: attachment to parents; commitment to school
and education; regular involvement in church activities; and belief in
the expectations, norms, and values of society.

Social Influence Models -- programs based on the social influence model
use interactive teaching techniques, role-playing, discussions, small
group activities, and peer-to-peer strategies.

Social Marketing -- the application of commercial marketing techniques
to communicate about health and social issues. Social marketing focuses
on an identified target audience -- attempting to persuade that
audience, mainly through various channels, to adopt an idea, practice,
product, or all three.

Stakeholders -- those persons with an interest in the program and its
evaluation (e.g., participants, funders, managers, persons not served by
the program, community members, etc.).

State Preemption -- after prohibition, the federal government gave
states the power to decide how alcohol sales and distribution would be
controlled. State preemption refers to instances where the state power
supercedes local jurisdictions. State preemption occurs in many issues
where state standards are set at less desirable levels than existing
local ordinances.

Strategy -- a plan for how to accomplish a goal.

Summative Evaluation -- also called "impact" evaluation, is designed to
collect information about whether a program is effective in creating
intended outcomes.

Target Population -- the audience to which your program and activities
are aimed. Often referred to as the primary audience, the target
population includes those who are primarily affected by the issue and
among whom you are trying to create change (e.g., drug abusing parents,
young children).

Technology Transfer -- the systematic process through which skills,
techniques, models, and approaches emanating from research are delivered
to and applied by practitioners and organizations, including the
provision of technical assistance concerning financial, psychological,
and organizational challenges to the transfer process.

Theory -- a set of interrelated propositions containing concepts that
describe, explain, predict, or control behavior.

Triangulation -- the use of multiple data sources and methods to answer
the same research question.

Universal Prevention Strategies -- target general population groups
without identifying those at particularly high levels of risk. All
members of the community benefit from prevention efforts rather than
specific individuals or groups within the community.

Violence -- physical and nonphysical harm that causes damage, pain,
injury, or fear. It is a public health and safety condition that often
results from individual, social economic, political, and institutional
disregard for basic human needs.

Vision -- a shared picture of the future that a group seeks to create.

YSAPI -- National Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Initiative

Resources include:

CSAP Grant Application for the National CAPT, 2000.

CSAP's Western CAPT web site,
<http://captus.samhsa.gov/western/western.cfm>

"Dissemination of Research-Based Approaches to Prevention: Notes on
Issues Needing Attention," Fried Wittman, February 29, 2000.

*Getting Results: California Action Guide to Creating Safe and Drug-Free
Schools and Communities* (Part I), California Department of Education,
Sacramento 1998.

"A Glossary of Commonly Used Alcohol Policy Acronyms, Terms, and Jargon:
A Partial List Compiled for the Cal Council 1998 Retreat."

*Prevention Primer: an encyclopedia of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug
prevention terms*, US Department of Health and Human Services, 1993.

"Science-based Practices in Substance Abuse Prevention: A Guide" (draft)
CSAP, December 7, 1998.

"Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist Training," CSAP's Western CAPT,
2000.

For information concerning this document contact:

Denise Sheehan

CSAP's Western CAPT

University of Nevada, Reno

CASAT/279

Reno, Nevada 89557-0258

888.734.7476 x2277

775.784.1840

dsheehan@casat.org