Module 3 -- Prevention in the Community

PURPOSE

The purpose of this module is to provide physician assistants with an overview of community-based prevention approaches to address alcohol, tobacco, and other drug problems as community issues. The module stresses the importance of physician assistants working with other groups in their communities including their professional organizations. During the module, participants will identify potential opportunities to build protective factors or counteract risk factors in their own communities. Participants will be encouraged to become involved with activities in their home community including advocacy for public policy change. Participants will also experience a cultural heritage activity, keeping in mind the need to recognize how perceptions from experience influence prevention work in a diverse community. (If you think of the High Wire Act in the Module 1 slide presentation, Module 3 focuses on the Community and School pillars as we work toward building the Safety Net, and counteracting interpersonal and environmental risk factors.)

OBJECTIVES

At the completion of this module participants will:
  1. Understand the importance of community-based prevention.
  2. Understand the importance of cross-cultural communication and how perceptions can influence prevention work.
  3. Understand their role in influencing their professional organizations to implement prevention activities such as advocating for public policy changes.
  4. Identify opportunities to conduct or support ATOD problem prevention in their communities.
  5. Initiate planning to support or facilitate ATOD problem prevention activities in their own communities.

PREVENTION CONCEPTS

  1. Physician assistants can play an important role in their community in the prevention of ATOD problems.
  2. Physician assistants are encouraged and welcome to join local community prevention activities which are often already in place.
  3. Public policy actions such as increases in alcohol and tobacco excise taxes are some of most effective prevention strategies.
  4. Prevention of ATOD problems is everyone's responsibility. The problem will get worse unless we participate.
This module uses a combination of teaching techniques that include a didactic presentation, group discussion, role plays, and a worksheet. It is designed to review the Pre-Event Activities #3 and #4, the waiting room ads and the examples of community prevention programs.

Community Prevention Case Study

Prevention Activity:

You are volunteering to work with a Big Brother/Big Sister or Adult-Teen Mentoring Program in your community. You have been assigned a 14 year-old of the same gender, but from a different culture than your own. (For example, if you are African American, the youth could be Asian American or Caucasian; if you are Caucasian the youth could be African American or Hispanic; if you are Christian, the youth could be Orthodox Jewish or Moslem; if you are heterosexual, the youth could be Lesbian or Gay, etc.)

Questions:

You have just met each other for the first time. Here are some questions for you to think about?
 
1. How would you get to know each other?
2 How would you have fun together? 
3. What activities would you do together?
4. Would you bring him/her home to your family?
5. What other questions would you have?
6.  How might this type of experience with the 14 year-old motivate you to join with others in the community for combined prevention efforts (e.g. joining with other parents in promoting ATOD-free environments, meeting with school officials to develop school policies and procedures, joining with colleagues to encourage enforcement of laws related to selling alcohol or tobacco to under-aged youth)?