April 1, 2005
National Coalition Institute's Research into Action
Prevention Strategies Coalitions Can Afford

Many coalitions face the challenge of selecting and implement programs, policies and/or practices that are both effective and affordable. Effective, evidence-based prevention strategies exist, but often the cost of the programs puts them out of the coalition’s reach. Recent research by Dennis Embry, published in the Journal of Community Psychology, offers coalitions an innovative model based on “behavior kernels” that addresses the issue of implementing effective, evidence-based prevention at an affordable cost.

Evidence-based prevention programs can be developed at the community level.

Behavior kernels are the active ingredients in fully-developed programs, and have shown effectiveness in creating positive behavior change in prior research studies. The behavior kernels model is based both on child development and risk and protective factor theories. The goal is to implement a simple strategy that is quickly and easily adopted by the community so that it becomes a social norm in a short period of time.

 

Once the behavior kernels are adopted as community-wide habits, the results can include decreased risk and increased protection for individuals, families, schools and the community as a whole. Communities can develop low-cost and evidence-based “behavioral vaccines” by implementing a combination of behavior kernels.

Examples of behavior kernels include:

Meaningful roles – Providing responsible roles to all children in the classroom, school, or home increases prosocial behaviors, instructional time, and achievement, and provides positive adult and peer reinforcement & recognition.

Mystery motivators – Random rewards using a simple, lottery-like system for behaviors have been found to be very powerful in changing child behaviors at home & school, parent behavior, and work-related behaviors.

Source: Embry, D.D. (2004). Community-based prevention using simple, low-cost, evidence-based kernels and behavior vaccines. Journal of Community Psychology, 32(5). For more information visit http://www.paxtalk.com.
  What Coalitions Can Do

Focus prevention efforts across the developmental lifespan.
Prevention strategies should be implemented in developmentally appropriate ways across the lifetime of the individual in order to increase the chances of sustainable, community-wide change.

Work with your member organizations to implement behavioral kernels and vaccines.
For example, the elementary schools may be having problems with children displaying negative behaviors. A behavioral vaccine may be the implementation of a “good behavior game” in the classroom setting, which has been shown to be effective at reducing aggression and bullying. Coalitions can work with the schools in researching and implementing this low-cost and evidence-based strategy.

Research and apply behavioral vaccines at the community level.
An example of an implementation of a behavioral vaccine at the community level is the “reward and reminder” system. Utilized by Project Freedom, a community-wide initiative to decrease drug and alcohol abuse, adults and minors in the community were trained to visit alcohol and tobacco outlets and give out commendations for those retailers that refused to sell to minors. Alcohol sales decreased from 83 percent to 33 percent in stores that received the citizen intervention.

 
CADCA's National Coalition Institute, 625 Slaters Lane, #300, Alexandria, VA 22314, 1-800-54-CADCA
Research into Action may be copied without permission citing CADCA's National Coalition Institute as the source.
CADCA's National Coalition Institute is federally-funded through a grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy that is administered by SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. The Institute's mission is to increase the effectiveness of community anti-drug coalitions throughout the nation.