Evidence-Based Prevention - TTASC Connecticut

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Evidence-based strategies in this guide

Strongest in combination

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SPF

The 5-step Strategic Prevention Framework

Data-driven and community-led

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Levels addressed, individual to society

Risk and protective factors

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Fidelity

Implement with fidelity for real results

Adapt to local context

The Basics

What are evidence-based prevention strategies?

Evidence-based prevention strategies are interventions that have been rigorously evaluated and shown to reduce substance use, delay initiation, or lessen its consequences. They are grounded in theory, supported by data, and deliver results when implemented with fidelity.¹

Effective prevention takes a comprehensive, multi-level approach across the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels, and coalitions adapt these strategies to local needs (the National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA).²

How to Plan

The SPF: a 5-step planning cycle

The Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) guides practitioners through a data-driven, culturally responsive planning cycle, with cultural competence and sustainability woven throughout. The Prevention Training and Technical Assistance Service Center (TTASC) offers an SPF 101 course and a printable SPF checklist.³

SAMHSA Strategic Prevention Framework pinwheel: assessment, capacity, planning, implementation, and evaluation around sustainability and cultural competence

The five steps

• Assess local needs, resources, and readiness.

• Build capacity by mobilizing partners and funding.

• Plan with strategies matched to your data.

• Implement with fidelity to what works.

• Evaluate outcomes and refine.

Woven through every step: cultural competence and sustainability, shown at the center of the wheel.

Strategies That Work

Five strategies that work

No single strategy solves the crisis. These five work best layered together, and each can be piloted locally.

1. Youth engagement

Youth as partners, not problems.

Involve young people in program design, delivery, and evaluation, not just as an audience.
Use peer advocates, youth-adult partnerships, and youth councils with real decision-making power.
Peer-led education and overdose-prevention messaging reach other youth and reduce stigma.
TTASC tool: Youth Engagement Strategy Guide.

2. Social norms marketing

Correct misperceptions with data.

Teens who overestimate peer substance use are more likely to use themselves.
Social norms campaigns share accurate local data showing most youth do not use.
Correcting misperceptions can measurably reduce risky patterns.
TTASC tools: Social Norms Marketing Guide and Prevention Storytelling for Impact.

3. Environmental & enforcement strategies

Change the conditions around use.

Prescription take-back events and drop boxes remove unused medications from homes.
Access-focused enforcement reduces availability: retail compliance checks (alcohol, tobacco, and vape), social host law education, shoulder-tap operations against third-party sales, driving-under-the-influence (DUI) checkpoints, and preventing fake identification (fake IDs).
Good Samaritan laws protect people who call 911 during an overdose.
TTASC tool: Enforcement Strategy Guide.

4. Prescriber education & PDMPs

Safer prescribing, fewer leftover pills.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2022 prescribing guideline recommends the lowest effective dose and short supplies for acute pain.
Avoid co-prescribing opioids with benzodiazepines when possible.
Connecticut's Prescription Monitoring Program, the state Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), helps clinicians spot risky patterns.

5. Family & parent education

Equip the adults closest to youth.

Parents are the leading influence on youth choices; skills-based programs work (“Talk. They Hear You.”).
See the companion TTASC guide, A Parent’s Guide to Opioid Use Prevention.
Pair education with safe storage, disposal, and naloxone access at home.

For the Field

Key messages for prevention professionals

Comprehensive and adaptable

Layer multiple evidence-based strategies for overlapping protection, and adapt them to local culture using the SPF.

Youth are partners

Move beyond tokenism and give young people real decision-making authority.

Data drives decisions

Assess needs, monitor fidelity, evaluate outcomes, and refine.

Overdose prevention is everyone's job

Naloxone, fentanyl test strips, and syringe services save lives, and success depends on cross-sector partnerships.

Where to Turn

Prevention resources & supports

Connecticut

CT DMHAS & RBHAOs

Prevention support, naloxone, and training from the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) and Regional Behavioral Health Action Organizations (RBHAOs).

portal.ct.gov/dmhas

Connecticut