A System for Evaluating Local Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention Initiatives

Abstract

Local alcohol and drug use prevention in Sweden has witnessed a substantial surge in recent years, with government funding for local coordinators in every municipality. Whether this has contributed to the recent decline in alcohol use among young people is unknown. The ESAPP project evaluates local alcohol and drug prevention in the 18 municipalities that comprise Stockholm. In order to obtain knowledge of prevention activities and their role in outcomes and to stimulate sharing of experiences, a Web-based reporting system was developed in collaboration with the local coordinators. There has been considerable variation in the use of this reporting system and its potential has not been realized.

Keywords:

• alcohol
• drug use
• prevention
• monitoring
• evaluation
• coordinators
• policies

Notes

*The term “community” has become something of a policy buzzword, which has been attached to a diverse range of ideas and initiatives. It means various things to a range of individual and systemic stakeholders. “Shared geography,” as an often regarded simplistic, common denominator, minimizes the range of other sharing options, which range from actual objects to beliefs, values, membership in, identification with, association with, from a micro- to a globalized macrolevel.One can overly simplistically categorize three broad types of community intervention models in order to consider the demands and implications of community readiness and community awareness for planned intervention. These include: (a) professional agency networks, (b) community partnerships between professionals and community members, and (3) grass-roots community initiatives. Shiner, et al. (2004). Exploring community responses to drugs. Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York, UK (www.jrf.org.uk). Editor's note.