The mission of the Washington Association for Substance Misuse And Violence Prevention (WASAVP) is to unite prevention advocates in Washington State to create safe and healthy communities through prevention of substance misuse and violence.
Prevention First! for Safe and Healthy Communities.
What is Environmental Prevention?
“Environmental Prevention” - focuses on reducing substance misuse across an entire population and is most effective when carried out through a coordinated, community-based approach.
Grounded in public health, environmental strategies focus on the broader physical, social, cultural, and institutional factors that shape substance use. These well-established prevention approaches help coalitions change the environments in which substance use and abuse occur.
Environmental strategies focus on preventing problems by changing community conditions—such as rules, policies, systems, and social norms. Coalitions should use these strategies to create community-wide impact, while also running evidence-based prevention programs that target specific groups or age ranges.
Increasing fines for underage drinking, keeping tobacco products behind the counter, not selling cold single beers in convenience stores, and placing lighting in public spaces that have been used for drug sales or drug using behaviors are examples of environmental prevention strategies.
Interest in studying how environmental strategies can influence alcohol use began in the mid-1970s. In the United States, communities started adopting this approach in the mid-1980s as a way to deal with rising problems such as alcohol-related crime and violence around alcohol outlets, drinking and driving, underage drinking, and other local alcohol issues.
...for populations like these:
For laws and regulations to work, they need to be properly enforced. Police officers play an important role in this and should be included on community advisory boards, health task forces, and school or community coalitions. But enforcement isn’t only the job of the police. Young people, parents, and other community members also contribute to keeping rules in place. Prevention specialists can help by informing law enforcement about which enforcement strategies work best and what program elements make them more effective.
Each year, 15.8 million students attend two- and four-year colleges in the United States. For many, college supports academic growth, new friendships, and exposure to the wider world.
However, college is also a time when many students try drugs for the first time. Health and wellness professionals often treat drug use as an individual problem, even though evidence shows the college environment itself plays a major role in students’ drug use.
Because of this, college campuses are an important place to introduce programs that prevent and reduce drug use—but such efforts are still limited.
This guide offers a roadmap for prevention professionals in colleges and universities. It encourages collaboration with students, administrators, and other stakeholders to address drug misuse on campus. It also highlights the importance of cultural considerations and presents five strategies for success during times of campus disruption.
Employers can take many steps to prevent substance use among workers, and some of them may not seem directly related at first. Programs like employee assistance programs (EAPs), wellness programs, and unions can help by educating employees about substance use and showing them where to get help if needed.
Improving workplace conditions can also make a difference. For example, reducing the risk of injuries may lower the number of employees who receive opioid pain medication. Reducing workplace stress and limiting alcohol at company events can also help decrease substance use among employees.
In 2020, the American Public Health Association released a policy statement entitled A Public Health Approach to Protecting Workers from Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose Related to Occupational Exposure, Injury, and Stress.
...and for policy issues like this.
Using Opiate Settlement Funds to Prevent Substance Use and Overdose Among Youth and Adolescents
Opioid settlement funds give states and local governments a chance to make smart investments in fighting the substance use crisis. Continuing to fund proven strategies—like prevention, early intervention, and harm reduction—is essential for building a strong long-term system for addressing addiction.
Johns Hopkins University’s Principles for the Use of Funds From the Opioid Litigation, used by many states, highlights youth prevention programs as a major priority. Since many agencies at different government levels already support prevention work, using settlement funds for these efforts helps states work together, strengthen current systems, and expand future prevention opportunities.
