Evidence-based interventions refers to prevention activities or strategies that evaluation research has shown to be effective. Some of these activities help individuals develop the intentions and skills to act in a healthy manner, while others focus on creating an environment that supports healthy behavior.
To address opioid misuse in your community, select strategies that have been shown to be effective, are a good fit for your community, and are likely to promote sustained change.
Evidence of Effectiveness
Few studies have examined the effectiveness of interventions focused specifically on opioid misuse. As a result, traditional guidance about strategy selection (e.g., selecting interventions from Federal registries of evidence-based interventions) may be difficult to follow.
Literature reviews and best practice summaries may help you identify strategies that have been evaluated and that may be a good fit for your community. For example:
- This literature review summarizing the evidence in support of various strategies and interventions for addressing the nonmedical use of opioid drugand opioid overdoses.
- Best practices from MassCALL2 grantees regarding strategies for reducing unintentional fatal and nonfatal opioid overdoses are summarized here.
These and other resources (e.g., other literature reviews, published studies, unpublished evaluation findings) may help you identify the strategies with the greatest potential to affect the intervening variables you identified as a priority.
For each strategy you consider:
- Review the research evidence that describes how the strategy is related to your selected intervening variable(s)
- Based on this evidence, present a rationale describing how the strategy addresses the intervening variable(s)
Conceptual Fit
To determine conceptual fit, consider the following:
- How relevant is this strategy to your community?
- Has the strategy been tested with the identified target population? If not, how can it be applied to the target population?
- Is the strategy logically connected to your intervening variable(s) and desired outcomes? How will implementing this strategy in your local community help you achieve your anticipated outcomes?
Practical Fit
Is your community currently able to effectively implement the selected strategy, given its readiness, population, and general local circumstances? Consider the following:
- Resources—cost, staffing, access to target population, etc.
- Organizational or coalition climate—how the strategy fits with existing prevention or reduction efforts, willingness on everyone’s part to accept new programs, buy-in from key leaders, etc.
- Community climate—the community’s attitude toward the strategy, buy-in from key leaders, etc.
- Sustainability of the strategy—community ownership, renewable financial support, community champions, etc.
Potential Impact
Consider the comprehensiveness and potential for long-term impact of each strategy:
- Strategies that are more narrow in focus (e.g., educating parents or health care providers) may be easier to implement
- Strategies aimed at changing policies, systems, and environments (e.g., prescription drug monitoring programs, system-wide changes in how EDs treat opioid overdose) may be more likely to promote sustained improvement in outcomes