Briefing: The Power of Substance Use Disorder Prevention

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This video was created via Notebook LM Based on the text from the below Blog Post.

The post renews the need of Substance Use Disorder Prevention Strategies as growing more important than ever.

1. The Critical Need for Substance Use Disorder Prevention Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is identified as a major public health crisis with significant human and economic costs, yet effective prevention strategies remain "grossly underutilized."
   

   1. Leading Cause of Illness and Death: "There are more deaths, illness, and disabilities from substance use than from any other preventable health condition,” according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA; 2017). This highlights SUD as a top public health concern, akin to infectious diseases before the widespread implementation of public health interventions like improved sanitation and immunizations.

   2. Enormous Economic Burden: SUD costs the United States "over 600 billion dollars annually" (NIDA, 2018). The economic burden extends to various sectors:

   3. Individuals with SUD are "highest-cost users of health services, including more frequent and longer durations of hospitalizations" (Hostetter & Klein, 2017).

   4. Definition of SUD: According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5), SUDs are defined as "the reoccurring presence of alcohol and/or drug use that causes significant impairments," categorized by severity as mild, moderate, or severe.

   
   

2. The Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) is an effective prevention planning and programs structured on a five-step process that addresses SUD and incorporates essential qualities and guiding principles.

1. Essential Prevention Qualities: The SPF emphasizes:

   1. Accountability

   2. Capacity

   3. Effectiveness

2. Guiding Principles of SPF: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2017) outlines key principles that provide evidence-based benefits:

   1. "Prevention is a continuum."

   2. "Prevention is prevention is prevention."

   3. "Successful prevention decreases risk factors and enhances protective factors."

   4. "Prevention strategies use proven and evidence-based practices."

   5. "Collaborative systems of prevention services are more effective than isolated prevention efforts."

   6. "Importance of sharing of information, tools, and strategies across systems are beneficial."

   7. "Substance use should be addressed in a comprehensive method."
      

3. Compelling Return on Investment for Prevention - while investing in evidence-based SUD prevention programs yields significant financial and intangible benefits across individual, societal, and health levels, demonstrating a strong return on investment.

1. High Financial Returns: Research consistently shows substantial financial benefits:

   1. A general return on investment for prevention programs ranges from "$2-$20 for every dollar spent on prevention programs" (Southwest Prevention Center, 2004).

   2. "Every study available at the time of the review consistently found cost-benefits of prevention programs for substance use by at least two to one" (Southwest Prevention Center, 2004).

   3. Specifically, for every $1 spent on SUD prevention, there is a yield of "$10 return to long-term savings of treatment costs alone" (Hahn-Smith, 2011).

   4. School-based prevention programs are particularly effective, with findings suggesting that "if effective school-based prevention programs were implemented nationwide, then for every $1 invested would yield $18 back in savings" (Miller & Hendrie, 2008).

   5. Significant Intangible Benefits: Beyond financial gains, prevention offers a multitude of societal improvements:

      1. "Lower crime rates"

      2. "Increase in productivity"

      3. "Decrease in motor vehicle accident rates"

      4. "Increase in overall life expectancy"

      5. "Higher employment rates"

         
         

Conclusion

Prevention Research makes a strong case for prioritizing investment in substance use disorder prevention. It highlights the staggering human and economic costs of SUD, outlines a proven framework for effective prevention (the Strategic Prevention Framework), and, most compellingly, demonstrates a robust return on investment—both financial and societal—for implementing evidence-based prevention strategies. SCOSAR reminds the community that "Investing in prevention related to substance use disorders is proven to have significant impacts at the individual, societal, and health levels," and emphasizes that "The availability of evidence-based prevention programs exists and requires the utilization of available prevention programs and strategies."

This post is a summary of a factsheet I published while serving as Director of the North Carolina Prevention Training and Technical Assistance Center. - C. Jamie Edwards, SCOSAR Director