Moving Evidence-Based Drug Abuse Prevention Programs From Basic Science to Practice: “Bridging the Efficacy-Effectiveness Interface”

Abstract

This article examines the challenges faced by developers of youth drug abuse prevention programs in transporting scientifically proven or evidence-based programs into natural community practice systems. Models for research on the transfer of prevention technology are described with specific emphasis given to the relationship between efficacy and effectiveness studies. Barriers that impede the successful integration of efficacy methods within effectiveness studies (e.g., client factors, practitioner factors, intervention structure characteristics, and environmental and organizational factors) are discussed. We present a modified model for program development and evaluation that includes a new type of research design, the hybrid efficacy-effectiveness study that addresses program transportability. The utility of the hybrid study is illustrated in the evaluation of the Early Risers “Skills for Success” prevention program.

• Cultural sensitivity
• Efficacy
• Effectiveness studies
• Program ownership
• Program transportability
• Stakeholders
• Transfer of technology

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Effective implementation of best practices for drug abuse prevention requires an understanding of several factors, including client, practitionner, and intervention structure characteristics, as well as environmental and organizational factors.

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Effective implementation of best practices for drug abuse prevention requires an understanding of several factors, including client, practitionner, and intervention structure characteristics, as well as environmental and organizational factors.

Notes

¹Community refers to a local neighborhood or commune.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gerald J. August

Gerald J. August, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychiatry, Interim Director of the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, and Director for the Center for Prevention and Children's Mental Health at the University of Minnesota. Dr. August specializes in the Diagnosis/Treatment of Disruptive Behavioral Disorders and Prevention Science. His current research interests include the prevention of serious conduct problems and drug abuse and the dissemination of evidence-based prevention programs to community systems of care. Dr. August received his doctorate in Developmental/Educational Psychology from the Psychology Department at Purdue University in 1975.

Ken C. Winters

Ken Winters, Ph.D., is the Director of the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research and a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. His research interests include adolescent drug abuse and problem gambling. Winters has published numerous research articles and book chapters in these areas, and has received several research grants from the National Institutes of Health and various foundations and state agencies. He received his doctorate in psychology (clinical) from SUNY at Stony Brook in 1982.

George M. Realmuto

George M. Realmuto, M.D., is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Director for the Clinic for Disruptive Behavioral Disorders at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Realmuto's clinical and research interests have focused on biological determinants and treatment of infantile autism, psychiatric comorbidity with disruptive disorders, and the prevention of serious conduct problems and drug abuse. Dr. Realmuto received his medical degree from the State University of New York Downstate in 1972.

Ralph Tarter

Ralph E. Tarter, Ph.D., is Professor in the Departments of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. He is Director of the NIDA-funded Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research. Dr. Tarter's research has focused on brain-behavior relationships pertaining to the etiology of substance use disorders. He has published 10 books and over 300 articles on topics relating to the etiology and consequences of alcohol and drug abuse. He received his doctorate in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma in 1971, specializing in Neuropsychology.

Cheryl Perry

Cheryl L. Perry, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota. She has authored or coauthored over 200 articles in the peer review literature on health promotion and prevention among youth over the last 25 years. She is currently working on several research projects in this area to prevent young adolescent alcohol use, tobacco use in India, and to promote physical activity and healthful eating patterns among young people. She received her doctorate in Psychology from Stanford University in 1980.

Joel M. Hektner

Joel M. Hektner, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Department of Child Development and Family Science at North Dakota State University. Dr. Hektner is a psychologist and prevention scientist with expertise in prevention methodology and quantitative methods. He has published several studies examining the impact of prevention programming on aggressive children's peer reputation, friendships, and peer interactions. Dr. Hektner received his Ph.D. in Psychology-Human Development from the Committee on Human Development at the University of Chicago in 1996.