Changing Environments to Prevent Substance Abuse
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Community Science brings an environmental approach to substance prevention. We understand that successful environmental prevention efforts must include policy change, address differences in culture and race, equity, and focus on efforts that change systems and structures that impede health and promote unsafe behaviors. Too often, efforts to address substance abuse prevention focus solely, or predominately, on changing individual behavior and attitudes. These include teaching young people drug refusal skills, providing mentoring support, and training in life skills. However, these individual strategies are difficult and costly to implement community- or population-wide and are not sufficient by themselves to result in community- and population-level reductions in substance abuse rates. Environmental strategies-those focused on changing the context around substance use and abuse-are important and necessary complements to individually focused strategies and are critically important to successful substance abuse prevention.
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SPOTLIGHT ON:
Changing Community College Environments to Prevent and Treat Tobacco Use
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Community Science has started work with the Legacy Foundation on projects related to tobacco prevention and cessation on college campuses throughout the U.S. Through a multi-organizational collaborative consisting of Legacy and nine partner organizations, the Tobacco Free Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Initiative seeks to support HBCUs in developing and implementing comprehensive policies for tobacco-free campuses. Community Science will evaluate this initiative by 1) providing a culturally responsive evaluation for the Tobacco Free HBCU Initiative that will consider the unique features of historically Black colleges; and 2) using culturally appropriate assessment tools to evaluate the unique characteristics of HBCUs.
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Community Matters: A Series About Building and Strengthening Community
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Community Science has developed the series, Community Matters: Action Principles, Frameworks, and Strategies, to share what decades of research and practice have taught us about building and strengthening community. David Chavis, CEO, and Joy Amulya authored the first publication of the series, Emerging Principles for Designing and Planning Community Change. This report describes 18 emerging action principles organized around four strategic areas critical to a foundation's role in community change efforts. These principles were derived from information gathered through document review of 13 past and present community change initiatives as well as interviews with key leaders of these initiatives. The principles are considered "emerging," as further exploration is needed to understand their impact on the initiatives' implementation and outcomes. The first report in the series will be available on our Publications page on March 17, 2015.
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| Community Science Staff Present at the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust |
On February 13, 2015, Kien Lee, Ph.D., Principal Associate/Vice President, and Brandon Coffee-Borden, M.P.P., Associate, delivered a presentation at the offices of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust (the Trust) for 12 members of the Trust and implementation team of Project Lazarus, a project of Community Care of North Carolina. The Trust engaged Community Science to study aspects of Project Lazarus, an initiative designed to address the ongoing challenge of prescription opioid misuse, abuse, and overdose in the state of North Carolina. Community Science used cross-case study methodology to identify patterns and lessons learned across six counties where the initiative is being implemented. The evaluation team conducted site visits and telephone interviews with stakeholders in each county to understand how the initiative is unfolding, and to identify challenges, successes, and lessons learned.
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| Staff Profile: Julia Lee, Ph.D. |
 Julia Lee, Ph.D., Managing Associate, has experience in research, evaluation, and health promotion in community settings. She has provided technical support for several health and social science research projects on health disparities, intimate partner violence, and community development. Dr. Lee has also worked extensively with community organizations and coalitions as well as local schools on program evaluation and evaluation capacity building by providing technical assistance, education, and training on monitoring and evaluation, measurement, data collection, and reporting. She has served as the local evaluator for national and statewide programs such as the 21st Century Community Learning Centers and the Strategic Prevention Framework-State Incentive Grant. She currently provides technical and logistical support to research and evaluation projects on health equity, health disparities, and immigration integration. Dr. Lee is learning how to play the ukulele and recently received her yoga teacher certification. |
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Upcoming Conferences and Call for Papers
Society for Prevention Research 2015 Annual Meeting
May 26-29, 2015
Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill
Washington, DC
Society for Community Research and Action 2015 Biennial Conference
June 25-28, 2015
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Lowell, Massachusetts
Call for Papers: Special Issue of Psychosocial Intervention
Network Analysis for Social and Community Interventions
Guest Editors: Isidro Maya-Jariego and Daniel Holgado Ramos
Submission deadline: July 12, 2015
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Job Openings
We are always eager to know about professionals who have experience in producing community and systems change work of the highest quality and who want to make a difference in this world. Visit the Community Science CAREERS page to learn more about working at Community Science.
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About Community Science
Community Science is an award winning research and development organization that works with governments, foundations, and non-profit organizations on solutions to social problems through community and other systems changes. To learn more, visit our PROJECTS page.
To discuss how Community Science can collaborate with your organization, contact us at 301-519-0722 or info@communityscience.com
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