US Prevention Providers’ Challenges & Solutions to Program Implementation

US Prevention Providers’ Challenges & Solutions to Program Implementation

Prevention Plus Wellness (PPW) provides online self-paced program implementer training courses to help prevention and health providers gain the knowledge, confidence and skills to implement their PPW programs with fidelity and maximum efficacy.

PPW programs are designed to prevent substance use/misuse while also promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors leading to improved mental health, including physical activity, nutrition, sleep and stress control.

Two questions are posed during the online training regarding challenges to implementing PPW programs and possible solutions.   

These questions include:

Question #1: What challenges or problems might arise before, during or after you implement your PPW program?

Question #2: What possible solutions do you have to these challenges/problems?

A sample of recent answers to these two questions from prevention and health specialists across the US are listed below. 

N. Johnson

Challenge: You have youth that cannot afford to play sports for whatever reason, therefore they do not get a lot of physical activity.  It would be helpful to find ways to assist them with being able to become physically active.

Solution: Coming together to identify ways to encourage physical activities.

K. Patzkowsky

Challenge: A challenge with teenagers, especially those already exposed to substance use and having high risk factors, would be getting buy-in from them.

Solution: One can try to overcome this challenge by presenting the information and giving them the autonomy to desire to make a change.

J. Mayes

Challenge: My organization uses PPW in response to youth that have been caught violating a substance policy already as an early intervention for them. While it is meant to be voluntary in lieu of other consequences or even charges, I can see some youths not wanting to come and engage and only doing it because they feel or are being told that they have to.

Solution: I think this can be resolved during the intake process, being very transparent with the youth when first having the conversation and enrolling them in the program. I also have to be very aware and mindful of verbal and non-verbal cues from youth.

A. Stromme Tobin

Challenge: Some youth cannot afford to play in sports and/or have to care for younger siblings so they don't get a lot of physical activity.

Solution: I would try to encourage them to focus on limiting screen time, eating healthier, getting restful sleep, and try to include their younger siblings in something as simple as playing hide and seek or walking around their house.

P. Williams

Challenge: (Lack of) engagement.  Mental distractions with cell phones.

Solution: Utilize their cell phones as a part of the program. Have them find relevant facts and use ChatGPT to help with suggestions.  As much as I can, I try integrating cell phones as a training enabler versus a distractor. 

C. LeBeau

Challenge: One challenge that may come up is the youth in the classes not taking the program seriously.

Solution: My solution to this problem would be to ensure seriousness and fidelity to the program materials and facts.

C. LeBeau

Challenge: One challenge that may come up is in group participation.  I have noticed that youth in high school may be more apprehensive to answer out loud in class.  

Solution: My solution to this problem would involve offering an incentive and being super enthusiastic about the presentation of materials!

D. Wiegert

Challenge: One challenge I can see is the students not taking it seriously  and not being honest with themselves.

Solution: My solution will be to have trusted messengers facilitate the learning experience. 

H. Marescot

Challenge: Non-English-speaking students.

Solution: Have a translator present to assist.

K. Mindingall

Challenge: For the elementary and middle school-aged SPORT PPW programs, I think attention span can be challenging. For high schoolers, honesty and/or fear of being judged may pose a challenge, as others have stated.

Solution: Being very familiar with the presentation to avoid any "lapse" in delivery is key here. I agree that creating a "safe, judgement-free space", as best as you can, is the solution for this latter challenge.

T. Scotto

Challenge: I think one major problem that can arise when presenting the PPW program to high-school aged youth, is their ability to separate their own opinions on health, wellness, and substance use from the scientific information that will be presented by the provider. A lot of youths form their opinions on things such as sleep, smoking, and drinking based off of social medias and influential people who are known as 'influencers'.

Solution: One way to solve this issue is by dedicating one to two slides in the presentation stating that the information being presented is scientific and comes from credible sources, and that the audience needs to be wary of what information they consume (especially if its information from social media) because it may be fake or heavily opinion based. It should be emphasized that the best way to make healthy goals is by basing the goals off of factual information and evidence. 

B. Remington

Challenge: We are piloting this program with winter athletics teams next school year. One problem may be getting the coaches' buy-in. They are the ones that have relationships with their players and will need to be checking in with them about their goals. My team will be outside presenters who are only at the school once a week.

Solution: Having a meeting with the coaches before the intervention explaining the importance of their role in process may help us overcome that issue. 

S. Sutton

Challenge: What if a youth reports information and needs referral for a program, would I report that to a parent or caregiver, school staff or whoever. Is that part of the screening process?

Solution (C. Werch): PPW program screening surveys are created primarily to help youth reflect on their health habits. However, we are now including validated substance use screeners (e.g., CRAFFT)  within our adolescent and young adult PPW programs to help identify those at high risk for substance use and allow referral to counseling, further assessment or treatment as suggested in the updated screening protocols if you provide PPW programs as SBIRT.  I would check with your organization's policy on referring youth, including when to do so and where.    

S. Sutton

Challenge: One problem I think might arise is a youth unsure about what goal to set or how to achieve it.

Solution: I can see where follow up might be a great way to encourage that. Have good examples and pay close attention to their responses to the screening survey questions. 

B. Rado

Challenge: Lack of interest and participation.

Solution: Initially I think convincing youth that this isn't "the same old stuff" we've been telling them for years.  I like that it approaches substance use from a health/body angle in a less defensive angle.

V. Grundas

Challenge: I'll be facilitating this via the health classes at two local high schools before the end of this school year. There will be 5 cohorts at one school and 3 cohorts at another, each cohort containing on average 20 students. Having enough time to facilitate the program in one session, when class periods are only 50 minutes long. 

Solution (C. Werch): We've been known to provide PPW program lessons in just 45 minutes, so when you practice your script time yourself to make sure you can get done in the allotted time.  You can do it!

I. Barlet

Challenge: Some potential challenges I can foresee are students being dishonest, uninterested/unengaged, or even oppositional if they already have strong beliefs contrary to the information that we are providing them.

Solution: When students are dishonest, it usually comes from a place of fear, so I would want to be straight forward with them and emphasize that I am coming from a place of no judgement, will be keeping their responses confidential, and only interested in how I can help them set & reach goals for themselves. For students that are uninterested or unengaged, I would hope that I am able to build some form of personal connection given that I will be hosting my programs one-on-one. For students that feel strongly against the information we are providing them, I think the best solution is to meet them where they are and introduce small differences for them to reflect on, as you are more likely to distance them by coming in hard and fast on the opposite stance.

S. Kosmerchock

Challenge: One challenge is students done feel vaping is harmful.  Another is not being honest in group settings during the screening survey and discussion questions.

Solution: Re-implement the Vaping PPW program every 6-months to reinforce the information. Discuss that this program is meant to help them gain a happy lifestyle and being honest will help make that happen.

C. Thomas

Challenge: One challenge that could occur would be active participation in the presentation.

Solution: Keeping eye contact and engaging with the audience will help.

D. Bock

Challenge: One challenge that might arise is due to having limited time (i.e., 2 days a week) at the Middle school, and providing SPORT PPW individually.

Solution: A solution would be to do use both the individual and group scripts when providing the program

M. Dominquez

Challenge: I agree with most of the concerns that others have mentioned, especially audio-visual availability and internet challenges.  Language barriers may be an issue, especially in Miami.

Solution: It's a good idea to bring our own laptop (to show the program slides) and HDMI cable when visiting a school with the presentation manual (if you own a program license vs. a paper copy of the manual). If language is an issue, it helps to sit bilingual students next to a language learner. This way they can help translate or ask questions on behalf of the student to clarify any of the points of the presentation or the writing/goal-setting portion. 

A. Fahey

Challenge: One area of concern I have with implementing a one-session program is the lack of follow up with the students on if they have achieved their goal. 

Solution: A possible solution is to work with the teachers in scheduling a one-month follow up in the class; spend 15 minutes checking in with them.

Learn more about Online Self-Paced PPW Program Implementer Training Courses: https://preventionpluswellness.com/products/online-self-paced-ppw-program-implementer-training

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