Abstract
Schools are often the venue for prevention programs and offer the opportunity for researchers and schools to partner in the shared agenda of preventing problem behaviors such as substance use, violence, and early school leaving. Prevention programs may target individual student, classroom, or school environment levels, with some targeting multiple levels. The implementation of prevention programs in schools is a complex process, and in this chapter we use the health promotion intervention life cycle (Bopp et al., J Prim Prev 34:193–207, 2013) as the framework for discussing several efforts, described in case studies, related to partnering with schools as venues for prevention programs. First, during the adoption phase, we highlight the importance of identifying the needs of the school, selecting the most appropriate program, and addressing the school’s capacity or readiness for the program. Second, during the implementation phase, we highlight the benefits of obtaining the school’s full support and cooperation, ensuring the implementation and ownership of programs by school staff, providing quality training, and achieving a balance between treatment fidelity and program adaptations that may enhance sustainability. Finally, we highlight factors that enhance the sustainability of prevention programs in school settings.
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Sullivan, T., Sutherland, K., Farrell, A., Taylor, K. (2015). Schools as Venues for Prevention Programming. In: Bosworth, K. (eds) Prevention Science in School Settings. Advances in Prevention Science. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3155-2_10
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