Four Corners Community Behavioral Health press release
By: Taylor Dimick, Prevention Director at Four Corners Community Behavioral Health
You have likely heard the term “prevention” used in a variety of health settings, but what does it really mean when we talk about preventing substance use disorders and mental health issues?
Prevention is an important part of the continuum of care, the professional model that defines and organizes behavioral health services. Prevention is a proactive process that is guided by science and is designed to reduce the likelihood of unhealthy behaviors before they begin. Prevention science helps communities understand the challenges they face, identify strategies that have been proven to work and determine the most effective ways to share that knowledge.
By focusing on an upstream approach, communities can create positive changes that support youth and families. One of the most effective ways to do this is through coalition work. Coalitions bring together individuals and organizations from across a community who share a common goal of improving health and well-being. Four Corners Community Behavioral Health supports four prevention coalitions across Carbon, Emery, and Grand Counties. These include the CARE Coalition in Carbon County, the 1Direction Prevention Coalition in Emery County, the Green River Prevention Coalition and the GREAT Coalition in Grand County. Four Corners Community Behavioral Health also houses the HOPE Squad of Carbon, Emery and Grand Counties which is a grass-roots coalition of sorts that supports the four coalitions and advocates for mental health, suicide prevention, intervention and postvention using many of the same evidence-based strategies found most effective across the nation.
Each coalition follows an evidence-based framework known as Communities That Care. This structured approach guides coalitions through phases that include assessing community needs, building capacity, planning, implementing strategies and evaluating outcomes to ensure prevention efforts are effective and responsive.
Successful prevention efforts depend on strong collaboration. Coalition members represent many parts of the community, including parents, youth, businesses, media, schools, law enforcement, youth serving organizations, civic and volunteer groups, faith communities, healthcare professionals, local and state government and other prevention and treatment organizations. When prevention strategies represent the whole community, the more powerful and respected they will be.
While prevention activities present as community events or outreach efforts, they are guided by strategic planning and informed by local data. Data plays a central role in prevention work. The Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) Survey is the coalition’s most comprehensive source of information on the challenges and opportunities our youth face. The SHARP Survey helps identify risk factors that may increase the likelihood of unhealthy behaviors and protective factors that act as strengths to buffer against those risks. By using local data, coalitions are then able to connect the dots about what actually works to help youth navigate this time in their lives and keeps them from making harmful choices.
So why prevention? Because prevention works! It is a smart financial investment. Research shows that for every dollar invested in prevention, communities can save up to $10 in substance use treatment costs. Prevention professionals follow high standards when bringing programs into their communities and choose approaches that have been proven to be effective. Prevention is proactive and focuses not only on behaviors, but also on the risk and protective factors that influence them. Prevention helps create safe and successful communities. Communities that implement evidence-based prevention programs have been shown to reduce the onset of behaviors related to alcohol, tobacco and other drug use by as much as 33% compared to those that do not.
If you are interested in shifting efforts from reactive to proactive, consider getting involved in prevention. Prevention Services are located at Four Corners Community Behavioral Health, 690 E Main St. Price, Utah 84501. Or contact Taylor Dimick to get connected with your local prevention coalition at 435-637-7200 or tdimick@fourcorners.ws.
You can find additional local resources for substance use treatment and recovery, here: extension.usu.edu/heart/resource-books