Top

Published in:

01-06-2008

Promoting Community Coalition Functioning: Effects of Project STEP

Authors: Nathaniel R. Riggs, Morgan Nakawatase, Mary Ann Pentz

Published in: Prevention Science | Issue 2/2008

Abstract

There has been relatively little research on effects of interventions aimed directly at improving internal community coalition functioning, particularly in the area of planning for adoption of evidence-based prevention programs. The current study investigated the effect of Project STEP, a prevention diffusion trial, on three factors hypothesized to improve coalition prevention planning (quality of coalition plans, extent of plan implementation, and committee internal functioning in meetings). Cities were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (televised training with limited technical assistance, televised training alone, or control; n = 24). Results demonstrated that at 1.5 year follow-up, coalitions in the two intervention groups showed more effective prevention plans, plan implementation, and functioning in meetings than control coalitions. Group differences were maintained at 3-year follow-up, albeit at decreased levels, for quality of planning and implementation. The findings suggest that building coalition capacity to diffuse evidence-based prevention programs works at least partially by increasing the effectiveness of coalition functioning, and that booster training may be warranted within 3 years after initial training.

Arthur, M. W., & Blitz, C. (2000). Bridging the gap between science and practice in drug abuse prevention through needs assessment and strategic community planning. Journal of Community Psychology, 28, 241–255.CrossRef

Bazzoli, G. J., Stein, R., Alexander, J. A., Conrad, D. A., Sofaer, S., & Shortell, S. M. (1997). Public-private collaboration in health and human service delivery: Evidence from community partnerships. The Milbank Quarterly, 75, 533–561.PubMedCrossRef

Brown, E. C., Hawkins, J. D., Arthur, M. W., Briney, J. S., & Abbott, R. D. (2007). Effects of Communities That Care on prevention services systems: Findings from the Community Youth Development Study at 1.5 years. Prevention Science, 8, 180–191.PubMedCrossRef

Butterfoss, F. D., Goodman, R. M., & Wandersman, A. (1996). Community coalitions for prevention and health promotion: Factors predicting satisfaction, participation, and planning. Health Education Quarterly, 23, 65–79.PubMed

Butterfoss, F. D., Goodman, R. M., & Wandersman, A. (1993). Community coalitions from prevention and health promotion. Health Education Research, 8, 315–330.PubMedCrossRef

Collins, L. M., Murphy, S. A., & Bierman, K. L. (2004). A conceptual framework for adaptive preventive interventions. Prevention Science, 5, 185–196.PubMedCrossRef

Crowley, K. M., Yu, P., & Kaftarian, S. J. (2000). Prevention actions and activities make a difference: A structural equation model of coalitions building. Evaluation and Program Planning, 22, 381–388.CrossRef

Edwards, S. L., & Stern, R. F. (1998). Building and sustaining partnerships for teen pregnancy prevention. Houston, TX: Cornerstone Consulting Group.

Feinberg, M. E., Greenberg, M. T., & Osgood, D. W. (2004). Readiness, functioning, and perceived effectiveness in community prevention coalitions: A study of Communities That Care. American Journal of Community Psychology, 33, 163–176.PubMedCrossRef

Feinberg, M. E., Greenberg, M. T., Osgood, D. W., Sartorious, J., & Bontempo, D. (2007). Effects of the Communities That Care model in Pennsylvania on youth risk and problem behaviors.. Prevention Science, 8, 261–270.PubMedCrossRef

Florin, P., Mitchell, R., Stevenson, J., & Klein, I. (2000). Predicting intermediate outcomes for prevention coalitions: a developmental perspective. Evaluation and Program Planning, 23, 341–346.CrossRef

Gray, B. (1985). Conditions facilitating inter-organizational collaboration. Human Relations, 38, 911–936.CrossRef

Halfors, D., Cho, H., Livert, D., & Kadushin, C. (2002). Fighting back against substance abuse: Are community coalitions working? American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 23, 237–245.CrossRef

Harachi, T. W., Ayers, C. D., Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. R., & Cushing, J. (1996). Empowering communities to prevent adolescent substance abuse: Process evaluation results from a risk- and protective-based community mobilization effort. Journal of Primary Prevention, 16, 233–245.CrossRef

Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., & Arthur, M. W. (2002). Promoting science-based prevention in communities. Addictive Behaviors, 27, 951–976.PubMedCrossRef

Hawkins, N. G., Sanson-Fisher, R. W., Shakeshaft, A., D'Este, C., & Green, L. W. (2007). The multiple baseline design for evaluating population-based research. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33, 162–168.PubMedCrossRef

Hays, C. E., Hays, S. P., DeVille, J. O., & Mulhall, P. F. (2000). Capacity for effectiveness: The relationship between coalition structure and community impact. Evaluation and Program Planning, 23, 373–379.CrossRef

Israel, B., Krieger, J., Vlahov, D., Ciske, S., Foley, M., Fortin, P., et al. (2006). Challenges and facilitating factors in sustaining community-based participatory research partnerships: Lessons learned from the Detroit, New York City, and Seattle Urban Research Centers. Journal of Urban Health, 83, 1022–1040.PubMedCrossRef

Jasuja, G. K., Chou, C.-P., Bernstein, K., Wang, E., McClure, M., & Pentz, M. A. (2005). Using structural characteristics of community coalitions to predict progress in adopting evidence-based prevention programs. Evaluation and Program Planning, 28, 173–184.CrossRef

Kegler, M. C., Steckler, A., Malek, S. H., & McLeroy, K. (1998). Factors that contribute to effective community health promotion coalitions: A study of 10 Project ASSIST coalitions in North Carolina. Health Education & Behavior, 25, 338–353.CrossRef

Kumpfer, K. L., Turner, C., Hopkins, R., & Librett, J. (1993). Leadership and team effectiveness in community coalitions for the prevention of alcohol and other drug abuse. Health Education & Research, 8, 359–374.CrossRef

MacKinnon, D. P., Fairchild, A. J., & Fritz, M. S. (2007). Mediation analysis. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 593–614.PubMedCrossRef

Mansergh, G., Rohrbach, L. A., Montgomery, S. B., Pentz, M. A., & Johnson, C. A. (1996). Process evaluation of community coalitions for alcohol and other drug abuse prevention: A case study comparison of researcher- and community-initiated models. Journal of Community Psychology, 24, 118–135.CrossRef

McMillan, B., Florin, P., Stevenson, J., Kerman, B., & Mitchell, R. E. (1995). Empowerment praxis in community coalitions. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23, 699–727.PubMedCrossRef

Mihalic, S., Irwin, K., Elliott, D., Fagan, A., & Hansen, D. (2001). Blueprints for violence prevention. Rockville, MD: Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse.

Minkler, M., & Wallerstein, N. (2002). Community based participatory research for health. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Mizrahi, T., & Rosenthal, B. B. (2001). Complexities of coalition buildings: Leaders’ success, strategies, struggles, and solutions. Social Work, 46, 63–78.PubMed

Pentz, M. A. (1986). Community organization and school liaisons: How to get programs started. Journal of School Health, 56, 382–388.PubMedCrossRef

Pentz, M. A. (1995). Prevention research in multi-ethnic communities: Developing community support and collaboration, and adapting research methods. In G. J. Botvin, S. Schinke, & M. Orlandi (Eds.) Drug abuse prevention with multi-ethnic youth. (pp. 193–214) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Pentz, M. A. (2003). Predictors of evidence-based prevention diffusion: Early results of the STEP Trial. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Prevention Research, Washington, DC, May.

Pentz, M. A. (2004). Form follows function: Designs for prevention effectiveness and diffusion research. Prevention Science, 5, 23–30.PubMedCrossRef

Pentz, M. A., Dwyer, J. H., MacKinnon, D. P., Flay, B. R., Hansen, W. B., Wang, E. Y. I., et al. (1989). A multi-community trial for primary prevention of adolescent drug abuse: Effects on drug use prevalence. Journal of the American Medical Association, 261, 3259–3266.PubMedCrossRef

Pentz, M. A., & Valente, T. W. (1993). Project STAR: A substance abuse prevention campaign in Kansas City. In T. E. Backer & M. Everett (Eds.) Original aspects of health communication campaigns: What works? (pp. 37–60). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Polivka, B. J., Dresbach, S. H., Heimlich, J. E., & Elliott, M. (2001). Interagency relationships among rural early intervention collaboratives. Public Health Nursing, 18, 340–349.PubMedCrossRef

Pollard, J. A., Hawkins, J. D., & Arthur, M. W. (1999). Risk and protection: Are both necessary to understand diverse behavioral outcomes in adolescence? Social Work Research, 23, 145–158.

Riggs, N. R., Feinberg, M. E., & Greenberg, M. T. (2002). Community sector and gender differences in the perception of community-based prevention. Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 709–721.CrossRef

Rogers, T., Howard-Pitney, B., Feighery, E. C., Altman, G., Endress, J. M., & Roeseler, J. M. (1993). Characteristics and participant perceptions of tobacco control coalitions in California. Health Education and Research, 8, 348–357.

SAS Institute (2005). SAS statistical software (9.1th ed.). Cary, NC: SAS Institute

Spoth, R. L., Greenberg, M., Bierman, K., & Redmond, C. (2004). PROSPER community-university partnership model for public education systems: Capacity-building for evidence-based, competence-building prevention. Prevention Science, 5, 31–39.PubMedCrossRef

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2000). Prevention works through community partnerships: Findings from SAMHSA/CSAP's national evaluation. Washington DC: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.

US Census. (2000). Retrieved October 31, 2006 from the US Census Bureau website: http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_see=on.

Valente, T. W., Chou, C. P., & Pentz, M. A. (2007). Community coalitions as a system: effects of network change on adoption of evidence-based substance abuse prevention. American Public Health Association, 97, 880–886.CrossRef

Wallerstein, N., & Bernstein, E. (1994). Introduction to community empowerment, participatory education, and health. Health Education Behavior, 21, 141–148.CrossRef

Weiner, B. J., Alexander, J. A., & Shortell, S. M. (2002). Management and governance processes in community health coalitions: A procedural justice perspective. Health Education & Behavior, 29, 737–354.CrossRef

Weitzman, E. R., Nelson, T. F., Lee, H., & Wechsler, H. (2004). Reducing drinking and related harms in college: Evaluation of the “A Matter of Degree” Program. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 27, 187–196.PubMed

Zakocs, R. C., & Edwards, E. M. (2006). What explains community coalition effectiveness? American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 30, 351–361.PubMedCrossRef

Title: Promoting Community Coalition Functioning: Effects of Project STEP
Authors: Nathaniel R. Riggs
Morgan Nakawatase
Mary Ann Pentz
Publication date: 01-06-2008
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Prevention Science / Issue 2/2008
Print ISSN: 1389-4986
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6695
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-008-0088-7

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Promoting Community Coalition Functioning: Effects of Project STEP

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 2/2008

The At-risk Adolescent Marijuana Nonuser: Expanding the Standard Distinction

The Study of Mentoring in the Learning Environment (SMILE): A Randomized Evaluation of the Effectiveness of School-based Mentoring

The Impact on Tobacco Use of Branded Youth Anti-tobacco Activities and Family Communications about Tobacco

Dissonance-based Interventions for the Prevention of Eating Disorders: Using Persuasion Principles to Promote Health

Peer Smoking, Other Peer Attributes, and Adolescent Cigarette Smoking: A Social Network Analysis