1. Identification of Infrastructure Gaps to
Address Youth Alcohol Use in Hawai‘i
Rebecca Williams, MPH, Claudio Nigg, PhD & Van Ta, PhD
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Hawai‛i at Mānoa
Office of Public Health Studies
Contact:
RATIONALE
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
Alcohol abuse chronic diseases and death.
Prevention effective when applied at broader levels.
Communities need sufficient infrastructure and capacity to operate effective prevention programs.
Step 1 of 5 in the planning process to implement youth alcohol prevention programs in communities in Hawai‘i.
Areas Need Improvement and Recommendations
Effectiveness: communication and collaboration between community organizations
Sustainability and Funding: leverage funds/other resources
Areas of Proficiencies and Recommendations
Organization and Workforce Knowledge and Skills: knowledge of evidence-based prevention strategies, ability to collect and share data
Cultural competency: expanding services compatible with the cultural health beliefs, practices, and the preferred language of their communities.
Hawai‘i County
Honolulu County
PURPOSE
To evaluate community capacity in the state of Hawai‘i using a capacity assessment survey administered to stakeholders in the youth alcohol prevention system.
METHOD
Participants
100+ State and 100+ County stakeholders
Non-profit organizations, private enterprises, community health centers, and government-sponsored entities involved with adolescent alcohol use
63% female; average age=46 (SD=22.3)
Procedures
“Capacity Assessment Matrix”: survey on effectiveness, funding/resource availability, sustainability, organization, workforce skills/knowledge, and cultural competency
Measures
Rated on: assessment of performance and importance
Gap scores: discrepancy between agency’s performance and importance
Analysis
Average gap scores yield a single score for six domains
One-sample t-tests using ‘ideal’ gap score of 0 as a marker
Paired sample t-test, exploratory p<.05
Kaua‘i County
Maui County
State of Hawai‘i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Supported by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration awarded to the Hawai‘i Department of Health, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division. The authors acknowledge State Epidemiological Workgroup, the County Advisory Committees’ and the State Advisory Committee’s data collection. We thank Daniela Kittinger, Wendy Nihoa, and Christine Payne for their contributions to this study.