Project Family prevention trials based in community-university partnerships: toward scaled-up preventive interventions

Prev Sci. 2002 Sep;3(3):203-21. doi: 10.1023/a:1019946617140.

Abstract

Findings from Project Family are presented to illustrate how a partnership-based program of research on universal family- and youth-focused interventions is addressing a public health challenge. One aspect of this public health challenge is the high prevalence of youth problem behaviors and a second aspect concerns barriers to scaling-up empirically-supported preventive interventions designed to ameliorate those problem behaviors. Illustrative findings are presented within a conceptual framework for scaling-up preventive interventions to achieve greater public health impact. Three interrelated sets of research requirements and findings are addressed within this framework: (a) rigorously demonstrating intervention effectiveness; (b) attaining sufficient levels of intervention utilization in diverse general populations, requiring study of recruitment/retention strategies, cultural sensitivity, and economic viability; and (c) achieving implementation quality, involving investigation of adherence and dosage effects, along with theory-driven, intervention quality improvement. The paper concludes with discussion of the need for careful investigation of community-university partnership models as a key mechanism for large-scale implementation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Child Behavior Disorders / prevention & control*
  • Child Behavior Disorders / psychology
  • Family Therapy*
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care
  • Parenting / psychology*
  • Public Health*
  • Research
  • Socialization
  • Substance-Related Disorders / prevention & control*
  • Substance-Related Disorders / psychology