Assignment Task:
Expand on how planners either followed or did not follow steps in the passage below:
Discussion Post: Review of an Evidence-Based Public Health Program
One evidence-based public health program that aligns well with the planning steps from McKenzie et al.'s text is the Communities That Care (CTC) prevention system. CTC is a community-based model that helps prevent youth risk behaviors such as violence, drug use, and delinquency. Developed by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and implemented nationally, CTC empowers local stakeholders to make data-driven decisions and select evidence-based interventions suited to their community's unique needs.
Evidence shows that CTC planners followed the planning steps outlined in Figure 1.6 (McKenzie et al., 2022). The program begins with organizing and engaging a community planning group (Step 1), forming a community coalition of local leaders, educators, law enforcement, and health professionals. This coalition conducts a needs assessment (Step 2) using data on youth behaviors and community risk factors. From there, they set goals and objectives (Step 3), such as reducing youth alcohol use by a specific percentage over time. CTC also includes selecting evidence-based interventions (Step 4), tailored to local needs, and emphasizes process and outcome evaluation (Step 6), as communities measure progress and adapt programs over time.
What stood out to me about CTC is the strong emphasis on stakeholder involvement and capacity building. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach, CTC invests in training local leaders and uses real-time data to guide decisions. This empowers communities and promotes long-term sustainability. Need Assignment Help?
Of the six steps outlined in Figure 1.6, I believe Step 2: Conducting a needs assessment may be the most challenging. Accurately assessing community needs requires access to reliable data, analytical expertise, and trust from the population being assessed. Without strong community participation and clear data collection methods, this step can be limited or biased, impacting all subsequent planning efforts.