This section provides guidelines for writing your local Strategic Plan, following the five Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) steps

OVERVIEW

Please provide a summary of your plan that includes the following:

A brief description of your community

Demographics of the selected target population(s)

A description of and rationale for the selected intervening variable(s)

A description of and rationale for the selected strategy or strategies

Summary of the implementation plan

Affirmation to participate in the state/national evaluation

STEP 1: COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT

Step 1 of the SPF involves accurately assessing the community’s nonmedical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) using data provided by the state, as well as other local data. The data must identify the magnitude of the problem, the geographic area(s) where the problem is greatest and/or for which population(s) it is greatest, and local intervening variable(s) associated with the problem. Communities must also assess community assets and resources, gaps in services, and capacity/readiness to act.

The Community Assessment is a comprehensive description of the target community, including five elements that should be incorporated into the Strategic Plan:

Assessment of local data on NMUPD

The local intervening variables hypothesized to increase the likelihood of NMUPD occurring

Assessment of community readiness and resources to address NMUPD

How cultural competence has been integrated into the assessment process and decision making

How sustainability has been integrated into the assessment process

1.1. Local Assessment Data on NMUPD

Describe the local community assessment of data on the numbers/rates of NMUPD, including the following:

The process used to conduct this phase of the assessment, including who was involved in conducting the assessment

Local data for the numbers/rates of NMUPD, including, but not limited to, the data supplied by the state

The data sources that were used in the assessment

Any gaps in the data (e.g., there is no information on the number of emergency department [ED] discharges related to NMUPD for all hospitals serving the community because these data are not routinely processed)

Proposed actions to address gaps in the available data (e.g., reach out to administrators at all hospitals serving the community to obtain data on ED discharges related to NMUPD)

Any additional information that you think would help the reader understand how the assessment of local data was conducted

1.2. Assessing Local Intervening Variables

Describe the assessment of intervening variables for your area, including the following:

The process used to conduct this phase of the assessment, including who was involved in identifying and assessing the intervening variables

The intervening variables investigated, data (qualitative and/or qualitative) on each variable, and the sources of the data

Any gaps in the data on intervening variables (e.g., there is no information on the number of calls to emergency medical services for potential NMUPD because these data are not routinely collected)

Any additional information that you think would help the reader understand how the assessment of local intervening variables was conducted

1.3. Assessing Community Readiness and Resources

Describe the process that you used to conduct your community readiness/resource assessment, including the following:

How key stakeholders were selected (who selected them, the reasoning behind selections)

How interviews were conducted (who was interviewed, length of time per interview)

How data were recorded (audio-taped or only written notes taken)

How many interviews were conducted

How the results were analyzed (who conducted the analysis, what analytic procedures were used)

Any additional information that you think would help the reader understand how the community readiness assessment occurred

Describe the results of the community readiness assessment, including the following:

The perceived readiness of the community to address the prevention and reduction of

NMUPD

Existing resources to prevent and reduce NMUPD and the community’s identified local intervening variables

The gaps in resources needed to address the prevention and reduction of NMUPD and the community’s identified local intervening variables

1.4. Cultural Competence During the Assessment Process

Describe how issues of cultural competence/inclusiveness were addressed during the assessment process. For example, were data obtained from current and former NMUPD users or those who work closely with them? How were factors such as gender, age, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity taken into account?

1.5. Sustainability During the Assessment Process

Describe what steps, if any, the community has identified to sustain the assessment processes initiated. For example, what will be done to update the assessment in future project years?

STEP 2: CAPACITY BUILDING

Step 2 of the SPF is to mobilize and build capacity. Capacity includes the human, technical,

organizational, and financial resources necessary to monitor affected populations and to implement identified strategies in a culturally and socially sensitive way. It also includes being ready, willing, and able to identify and successfully utilize information from, and network with, external organizations and resources at the local, state and national levels.

In this section of your Strategic Plan, discuss capacity-building activities undertaken or planned in relationship to both the assessment and the planning phases. Communities are neither required

nor expected to have all gaps in capacity filled during this planning phase. Instead, communities are expected to build capacity in data, resources, and readiness throughout the life of the grant.

Describe identified needs to build capacity to prevent and reduce NMUPD:

Strengths and areas of growth: Based on the results of the assessments in Step 1 of needs, resources, and community readiness and the assessment of the capacity needed to implement the selected strategy or strategies from Step 3, describe or summarize the strengths and areas of needed growth.

Plan for addressing areas of growth: Describe your plan to address your identified areas of needed growth. Needs that have already been addressed, such as those from Step 1, should be referred to in the past tense. Include the following:

Issues

How they will be addressed

Who will address them

Timeline

Measures of success

Cultural competence and sustainability: Describe how your plan to build capacity addresses cultural competence and sustainability. Be specific.

STEP 3: STRATEGIC PLANNING

The strategic plan must be based on documented needs, build on identified resources and strengths, set measurable objectives, and include the performance measures and baseline data against which progress will be monitored. Plans may be adjusted based on ongoing needs

assessment and monitoring activities. The issue of sustainability should be addressed

throughout each step of planning and implementation and should lead to the creation of a

long-term strategy to sustain policies, programs, and practices.

A comprehensive planning process saves time and money, helps ensure that the strategies the community selects are those most likely to reduce problems in that community helps allocate resources needed for implementation, and results in action and evaluation plans to guide the remaining steps of the SPF.

In this section of your local strategic plan, describe the following:

The process followed to develop the plan

Who was involved in the planning process

The process for selecting the local intervening variables

The selected intervening variable(s)

The target population(s)

Goals and outcomes

The process for selecting the strategy or strategies

The selected strategy or strategies

The rationale for selecting each strategy (conceptual fit, practical fit, link to research)

The cultural competence of the selection process and the selected strategy or strategies

The potential sustainability of the selected strategy or strategies.

Attach your logic model.

STEP 4: IMPLEMENTATION

Step 4 of the SPF describes how identified prevention and reduction strategies, programs, policies, and/or practices will be implemented. Community implementers must ensure that

culturally competent adaptations are made without sacrificing the core elements of the intervention(s).

In this section, describe your implementation plans in depth, using an action plan in the

format below. Be specific (e.g., how many training sessions and how long each session will

last, how many participants, when the intervention will begin and end

Strategy 1:

ActionSteps / WhoIs Responsible / Timeline / Measure of Success

Strategy 2:

ActionSteps / WhoIs Responsible / Timeline / Measure of Success

STEP 5: EVALUATION

Step 5 of the SPF is evaluation―measuring the impact of the implemented programs,policies, and practices. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are essential to determine if the

outcomes desired are achieved and to assess program effectiveness and service delivery

quality.