Abstract
A number of studies have demonstrated the efficacy of environmental change strategies (ECS) in effecting community-level change
on attitudes and behaviors related to underage drinking (Treno and Lee in Alcohol Res Health 26:35–40, 2002; Birckmayer et al. in J Drug Educ 34(2):121–153, 2004). Primary data collection to inform the design of these strategies, however, can be resource intensive and exceed the capacity
of community stakeholders. This study describes the participatory planning and implementation of community-level surveys in
12 diverse communities in the state of Washington. These surveys were conducted through collaborations among community volunteers
and evaluation experts assigned to each community. The surveys were driven by communities’ prevention planning needs and interests;
constructed from collections of existing, field-tested items and scales; implemented by community members; analyzed by evaluation
staff; and used in the design of ECS by community-level leaders and prevention practitioners. The communities varied in the
content of their surveys, in their sampling approaches and in their data collection methods. Although these surveys were not
conducted using traditional rigorous population survey methodology, they were done within limited resources, and the participatory
nature of these activities strengthened the communities’ commitment to using their results in the planning of their environmental
change strategies.
on attitudes and behaviors related to underage drinking (Treno and Lee in Alcohol Res Health 26:35–40, 2002; Birckmayer et al. in J Drug Educ 34(2):121–153, 2004). Primary data collection to inform the design of these strategies, however, can be resource intensive and exceed the capacity
of community stakeholders. This study describes the participatory planning and implementation of community-level surveys in
12 diverse communities in the state of Washington. These surveys were conducted through collaborations among community volunteers
and evaluation experts assigned to each community. The surveys were driven by communities’ prevention planning needs and interests;
constructed from collections of existing, field-tested items and scales; implemented by community members; analyzed by evaluation
staff; and used in the design of ECS by community-level leaders and prevention practitioners. The communities varied in the
content of their surveys, in their sampling approaches and in their data collection methods. Although these surveys were not
conducted using traditional rigorous population survey methodology, they were done within limited resources, and the participatory
nature of these activities strengthened the communities’ commitment to using their results in the planning of their environmental
change strategies.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-11
- DOI 10.1007/s10464-012-9543-5
- Authors
- Roy M. Gabriel, RMC Research Corporation, 111 SW Columbia, Suite 1200, Portland, OR 97201, USA
- Gillian J. Leichtling, RMC Research Corporation, 111 SW Columbia, Suite 1200, Portland, OR 97201, USA
- Marc Bolan, Marc Bolan Consulting, 6248 4th Ave. NW, Seattle, WA 98107, USA
- Linda G. Becker, Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, Department of Social and Health Services, Evaluation and Quality Assurance, 626-8th Avenue SE, Olympia, WA 98501, USA
- Journal American Journal of Community Psychology
- Online ISSN 1573-2770
- Print ISSN 0091-0562