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The Interactive Systems Framework Applied to the Strategic Prevention Framework: The Rhode Island Experience

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

The Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation (ISF) was introduced as a heuristic systems level model to help bridge the gap between research and practice (Wandersman et al., in Am J Commun Psychol 41:171–181, 2008). This model describes three interacting systems with distinct functions that (1) distill knowledge to develop innovations; (2) provide supportive training and technical assistance for dissemination to; (3) a prevention delivery system responsible for implementation in the field. The Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) is a major prevention innovation launched by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The SPF offers a structured, sequential, data-driven approach that explicitly targets environmental conditions in the community and aims for change in substance use and problems at the population level. This paper describes how the ISF was applied to the challenges of implementing the SPF in 14 Rhode Island communities, with a focus on the development of a new Training and Technical Assistance Resources Center to support SPF efforts. More specifically, we (1) describe each of the three ISF interacting systems as they evolved in Rhode Island; (2) articulate the lines of communication between the three systems; and (3) examine selected evaluation data to understand relationships between training and technical assistance and SPF implementation and outcomes.

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Notes

  1. While described here briefly, selecting state priorities and identifying localities contributing most to those state priorities was, in fact, a time and labor intensive project that involved choices of indicators and epidemiological judgments. A full description of the SEOW process is available within Rhode Island’s SPF Strategic Plan that was approved by SAMHSA.

  2. All assessment instruments, workbook materials and evaluation instruments mentioned in this article are available upon request to the first author.

  3. As there were many task forces represented by only one participant, identification of task force membership was not asked in order to preserve anonymity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank numerous individuals for their assistance with the successful implementation of the SPF grant. These include Charles Williams and the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Health, Hospitals, and Developmental Disabilities; the Northeast Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies, the task forces and SPF communities of Bristol, Cranston, East Providence, Middletown, Newport, North Kingstown, North Providence, Pawtucket, Providence, Smithfield, Warwick, Westerly, West Warwick, and Woonsocket; and the local evaluators, including DATACORP, John Mattson, Brad Crowther, Barbara Slyvia, Johnelle Luciani, and Peter Kreiner. Funding for the SPF grant was provided by CSAP (Grant No. 7003119).

Conflict of interest

There are no conflicts of interest. That is, there are no financial and personal relationships with individuals or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) this work. The authors alone are responsible for the content of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Community Research and Services Team, University of Rhode Island Providence Campus, 80 Washington Street, Shepard Building Room 235, Providence, RI, 02903, USA

    Paul Florin & Crystelle Egan

  2. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Decision Sciences Institute, 1005 Main Street, Suite 8120, Pawtucket, RI, 02860, USA

    Karen B. Friend & Brenda Amodei

  3. Chief of Epidemiology Section, Brown University/Division of Community Health, 121 South Main Street, Providence, RI, 02912, USA

    Stephen Buka

  4. Education Development Center, Inc., 55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA, 02458, USA

    Linda Barovier

Authors
  1. Paul Florin
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  2. Karen B. Friend
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  3. Stephen Buka
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  4. Crystelle Egan
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  5. Linda Barovier
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  6. Brenda Amodei
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul Florin.

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Florin, P., Friend, K.B., Buka, S. et al. The Interactive Systems Framework Applied to the Strategic Prevention Framework: The Rhode Island Experience. Am J Community Psychol 50, 402–414 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-012-9527-5

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