Welcome to Prevention Plus Wellness!

COVID-19 Prevention Plus Wellness Resources & Training

During the novel coronavirus outbreak Prevention Plus Wellness (PPW) is providing prevention and health specialists and organizations with new tools and training to ensure essential evidence-based and evidence-informed substance use prevention programs are delivered to youth and young adults.

These resources and training opportunities include: 

1. Free live and recorded training workshops on providing Prevention Plus Wellness programs using remote strategies.    

2. Step-by-step protocols for implementing PPW programs online as well as by video and telephone. 

3. New Prevention Plus Wellness program manuals and digital downloads with more interactive program slides, remote implementation protocols, and online pre-posttest surveys for monitoring program fidelity and effectiveness.  

4. Updated online 2-hour PPW Program Implementer Training for providing PPW programs online as well as face-to-face.

5. Updated online 2-hour Training of Trainer Workshops to address both in-person and online PPW program implementation training.

Prevention Plus Wellness (PPW) offers the only evidence-based screening and brief interventions proven to prevent youth alcohol, cannabis and tobacco use while promoting protective wellness behaviors in powerful and practical one-session programs. 

Prevention professionals can use brief PPW interventions to significantly expand their prevention reach to include nearly all youth and young adults, thereby increasing their public health impact throughout an entire region or state.       

PPW programs also address e-cigarette, marijuana and opioid use prevention while encouraging physical activity, healthy nutrition, sleep, stress control, spiritual practices and racial justice behaviors critical for healthy youth development.  

PPW programs are the practical, enjoyable, and cost-effective way to prevent substance use while also addressing chronic disease risks of physical inactivity, unhealthy nutrition, inadequate sleep, uncontrolled stress and racial discrimination among youth and young adults.      

PPW programs:

  • Use an evidence-based screening & brief intervention practices model
  • Consist of just one-session allowing all youth & young adults to be reached for critical prevention messaging
  • Have been adopted in all 50 US states & abroad
  • Are easily implemented with scripts & PowerPoint slides
  • Trigger desired future wellness images of participants
  • Are designed to prevent alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, e-cigarette & opioid use & racial discrimination
  • Promote physical activity, healthy eating, sleep, stress control, spiritual practices, racial justice, goal setting & positive identities
  • Include setting goals to avoid substance use AND increase wellness behaviors
  • Allow easy customization to your setting & population
  • Provide quick online training for program implementers, training of trainers & youth leaders
  • Include scannable and online pre-post program evaluation surveys 
  • Offer free evaluation services to promote & improve your program
  • Are designed for children, adolescents & young adults

Learn more about published research showing the multiple health behavior effects of the SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness program for youth and the InShape Prevention Plus Wellness program for young adults.

PPW programs use a screening and brief intervention approach and can be used as universal, selective or indicated prevention. 

Screening and brief interventions have been found effective for up to a year after receipt with adolescents and young adults (Tanner-Smith & Lipsey, 2015), including Prevention Plus Wellness screening and brief interventions (Werch, et al., 2005; 2010). 

PPW interventions are implemented in three simple steps:

  1. Increase youths’ health behavior awareness by having them complete a screening survey assessing their current substance use and substance use risk factors and wellness behaviors, 
  2. Motivate youth to improve their health behaviors by using a scripted protocol and PowerPoint slides to provide positive image feedback linking wellness and substance use behaviors for youth in-person or online, and  
  3. Increase youth self-regulation skills by assisting them to set and monitor goals to avoid substance use AND increase protective wellness behaviors.

Options for extending the number of lessons, along with tailoring, promoting and evaluating PPW interventions are provided and presented during online program implementer training.

Prevention Plus Wellness programs include a program manual with intervention scripts and digital downloads including PowerPoint slides and a pdf of all reproducible materials allowing implementation to an unlimited number of participants.

Practical online Program Implementer training includes two 1-hour recorded Core Knowledge and Online Strategies sessions and 2-hours live training highlighting how to implement program scripts with fidelity and maximize program effectiveness. 

Onsite training is just 5-hours permitting greater participant interaction and practice.  Online and onsite training includes a 3-year program implementer certification and CEU credits. 

Live 2-hour Online and Onsite Training of Trainer Workshops are also available for those who would like to train other PPW Program Implementers in their organization, region or state.

Live 1-hour Online Youth Leadership Training in Providing PPW Programs to address alcohol, vaping (e-cigarette), marijuana and opioid use prevention while promoting protective wellness behaviors among peers is also available.

"The opposite of substance use isn't non-use, it's wellness!"