Products and Resources Catalog

Webinar Description This training looked at the importance of Data Informed Decision Making, or DIDM, in strategic prevention planning, and the value of using data within each step of the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) to identify priority needs and achieve prevention goals. During this webinar, presenters defined key data-related terminology, described the benefits of using a data-informed prevention planning process, discussed common challenges and barriers to using data to plan and examined data-informed decision making within each SPF step.   Presenter Emily Bhargava is a Training and Technical Assistance Associate with Education Development Center (EDC). She is skilled in facilitation, data literacy, strategic and sustainability planning, and evaluation design. For over 15 years, she has led community-level health promotion efforts. She is an expert in the prevention of substance abuse, violence, suicide, teen pregnancy, obesity, and HIV, guiding the planning and implementation of culturally and linguistically responsive community-level prevention and health promotion efforts across Massachusetts and the United States.   Additional Resources  Flyer  PowerPoint

In this Issue:   *New South Southwest PTTC Prevention Onboarding Roadmap Other PTTC Resources for Onboarding the New Prevention Professional Epi Corner: Using a Multi-faceted Approach to Adolescent Opioid Misuse and Overdose What's Happening Around the Region?

This product is developed by Cheyenne Chee under the 2022-2023 Mountain Plains Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Fellowship Program. This toolkit is designed to provide Native American parents/ guardians with valuable resources and information to prevent cannabis use among youth. By utilizing the PTTC Network and Gray Matters campaign as primary resources, this toolkit aims to empower parents/guardians in promoting healthy choices and supporting their children's well-being. Additional relevant resources are also included to enhance the effectiveness of prevention efforts. 

This product is developed by Morgan Neavill, M.S. under the 2022-2023 Mountain Plains Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) 2022-23 Fellowship Program. Are you interested in advocating for the health and wellbeing of Montanans, but not sure where to begin? This toolkit will give you an overview of what it means to advocate on the issue of marijuana, and how to do so effectively. Montana Alliance of Prevention Website

Xylazine: Understanding the Latest Emerging Substance July 25, 2023, 1:00pm-3:00pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION Xylazine (or “tranq”) is a non-opioid sedative and tranquilizer only approved for use in veterinary medicine. However, over the past several years, human consumption of xylazine has begun rapidly increasing. Although initially only identified in illicit drug supplies in limited areas, xylazine has been found in 48 states as of April 2023. Xylazine is frequently, though not exclusively, used in conjunction with opioids, particularly fentanyl—due to xylazine’s ability to prolong their effects. Xylazine use presents many potential dangers to people, including increased risk of overdose and the development of necrotizing tissue damage. This webinar will bring together experts from across disciplines to discuss the history of xylazine use, what is known about its current scope of use and consequences, the effects of xylazine on people, and wound care and other harm reduction strategies. It will also offer an opportunity for participants to ask questions in a roundtable panel discussion format. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe Xylazine and its history of use and consequences. Explain how harm reduction strategies need to be adapted for complications in Xylazine use. Describe the current trends that detail the scope and the extent of the Xylazine issue. PRESENTERS Jason Bienert, RN, CWCN Josh Esrick, MPP   DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (DEA) GUEST:  Gail Poirier Section Chief, Strategic Intelligence Section (NIT) Jaclyn Iera Program Manager, Office of Forensic Sciences   SAMHSA:        Jeanne Tuono Assistant Regional Director (Region 3)      

The funder of this project, along with all other products of the Mid-America PTTC is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Although funded by SAMHSA, the content of this recording does not necessarily reflect the views of SAMHSA.  Laura Sacks Morris received he B.A. in Communications with high honors from the University of Maine at Orono. In 2000, she founded the Second Chance Foundation with the mission of helping youth make healthy decisions through ongoing preventive, interactive theatrical school programs on bullying, addictions, suicide, tobacco prevention and other topics.  For over 10 years, she worked as a facilitator and theatrical director with the Council for Drug Free Youth as well as one year as the Project Coordinator for the Drug Free Community grant in mid-Missouri. After re-locating back to Maine 7 years ago, she continues her work in prevention as the Project Director for Be the Influence, a Drug Free Community grant, including building a coalition of community members who have collectively worked to reduce youth substance use in the Windham/Raymond area. She is certified as a national leadership/prevention trainer including TIPS, DEEP and a range of other subjects as well as a motivational speaker and CADCA prevention graduate. Email: [email protected] Web:  www.betheinfluencewrw.org SAMHSA offers free, downloadable publications and tip sheets, as well as mobile apps for youth, teens, and young adults on topics such as substance misuse, common mental health conditions, and coping with disasters and other traumatic events.  https://www.samhsa.gov/prevention-week/voices-of-youth/substance-use-prevention-resources-youth-college-students  Art is not only a protective factor, but it’s a great community builder and gateway to collaboration. Interested in learning more about the use of art in prevention? You can follow “be the influence” on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube or visit their website at betheinfluencewrw.org. Learn more today!

  Media Literacy Resources From the PTTC Network All media literacy skills can be used across topics, but these resources have been organized based on the primary way media literacy is applied by the source. Click here to download the Media Literacy Resources Handout.   Additional Resources and Webinars: Media in Prevention Webinar 1: Social Media Best Practices Media in Prevention Webinar 2: Media Literacy as a Practical and Transferrable Skill Media in Prevention Webinar 3: Using Media in Substance Misuse Prevention  

Use this simple chart & its key questions to map out, track and achieve your own professional development goals. For additional information, view the associated training here. 

  Webinar Description How we as prevention professionals communicate our prevention messages to our intended audience is key to our success in reaching sustainable long term substance abuse prevention outcomes.  While we have many tools at our disposal, harnessing the power of these tools to convey our prevention message and inspiring our audience to see their place at the table is how we know that our communication strategy is effective.     During this two-part series, we: Reviewed communication goals in prevention and dug into the “who” and the “what” as it relates to promoting our prevention message(s) Explored best practices for creating slides, handouts, and newsletters to support prevention efforts Identified practices that help persuade our target audience to engage in our initiative and take action   Session 2 is an opportunity to review using tools such as newsletters, handouts and slides.   Presenters  Clara McCurdy-Kirlis is a multilingual communications and project management professional and has over 15 years of experience in project development, implementation, and management. She has held lead roles in health and education instructional design for adult learners, e-learning design and delivery, higher education curricula development, and interdisciplinary project coordination. McCurdy-Kirlis has also led communities of practice (CoP) with an emphasis on facilitating dialogue in a safe space where participants can share successes, challenges, and brainstorm solutions together. Clara designs virtual and face-to-face training materials and creates tools, blogs, and informational resources for the Northeast and Caribbean Prevention Technology Transfer Center in English and Spanish.   Additional Resources  Flyer  PowerPoint

The Northeast and Caribbean Spring 2023 Newsletter is here. This issue highlights Professional Development for Prevention Professionals and our upcoming trainings. 

In this Issue:   Alignment and Synergy for Prevention Leadership Epi Corner: Children's Mental Health: Protecting the Most Vulnerable What's Happening Around the Region? Other Opportunities

Prevention Spotlight: What Does & Does Not Work in Prevention May 17, 2023   Webinar Description Many trainings and resources focus on what research has shown to be effective to prevent substance use. We also know through research what is NOT effective and sometimes harmful in preventing substance use. Yet communities across the nation continue to implement these ineffective and sometimes counterproductive strategies. The focus of this webinar will be on identifying these ineffective approaches and alternative evidence-based strategies to replace these ineffective strategies. We will also spend time discussing strategies prevention professionals can use to address the resistance often expressed by individuals and organizations reluctant to change long-standing, well-liked, but ineffective prevention practices.   Objectives In this webinar, participants will: Identify interventions that have been shown through research to not be effective in preventing substance use. Identify evidence-based interventions that can be used as effective alternatives to the ineffective strategies. Describe strategies to address resistance to discontinuing ineffective prevention strategies.   Webinar Recording and Slides What Does & Does Not Work in Prevention Recording What Does & Does Not Work in Prevention Slide Deck (PDF)   Additional Resources SAMHSA-SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Alcohol Tax Tool Pre-Emption Tool Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity The Community Guide Reducing Vaping Among Youth and Young Adults Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health Cannabis: Moving Forward, Protecting Health SAMHSA - Preventing Marijuana Use Among Youth National Academies of Science and Engineering: Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility STOP Act Report to Congress   Presenters Alicia Sparks, PhD, MPH, is the Chair of the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance and a Senior Principal at Synergy Enterprises, where she serves as the Project Director for NIAAA’s APIS contract, as well as SAMHSA’s STOP Act contract. Dr. Sparks served as Project Director for CDC’s alcohol advertising monitoring project, for which she directed a team of researchers in conducting analyses of Nielsen data to determine alcohol industry compliance with self-governed rules on advertising alcohol to youth audiences. She has more than 12 years of experience in alcohol policy research, including designing, implementing, and evaluating studies, programs, and policies. Dr. Sparks has led the development of numerous publications on alcohol policy, including the 2022 Implementing Community-Level Policies to Prevent Alcohol Misuse evidence-based resource guide and the 2016 Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health. She has published more than 20 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has presented at more than a dozen conferences. She is co-chair of the Alcohol Policy conference series and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Global Alcohol Policy Conference.   Rick Collins is a Cincinnati, OH native who has resided in Hawai‘i since 2003. He specializes in public health policy on alcohol and other drugs. He is the co-founder of the Hawai‘i Alcohol Policy Alliance and the Maui Coalition for Drug-Free Youth, and he currently serves as Coalition Director for three community coalitions across Hawai‘i. His experience includes building new community coalitions, community organizing, and building coalition capacity to implement community-level policy strategies that reduce the harms of substance use. Rick currently serves as a board member for the US Alcohol Policy Alliance. He is a Certified Prevention Specialist and holds an MS in Counseling Psychology from Chaminade University   Questions Contact Kathy Gardner ([email protected]) if you have additional questions about the content related to this webinar.

Amy Ronshausen is the Executive Director of both Drug Free America Foundation and Save Our Society from Drugs. Both of these national nonprofit organizations work to defeat drug legalization attempts, promote sound drug policies, and prevent drug use, abuse and addiction. Amy is passionate about reducing illegal drug use and drug prevention, coordinating grassroots advocacy campaigns, prevention summits, analyze and track state and federal drug policy legislation, and training prevention professionals at local and national conferences. www.dfaf.org (drug free America foundation)  www.saveoursociety.org (save our society from drugs) https://onechoiceprevention.org/ (One Choice) https://www.listenfirstproject.org/ (Listen First Project) https://learnaboutsam.org/ (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) https://onechancetogrowup.org/ (One Chance to Grow Up) The funder of this project, along with all other products of the Mid-America PTTC is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Although funded by SAMHSA, the content of this recording does not necessarily reflect the views of SAMHSA. Did you know nearly 700 publications and digital products are available online at https://store.samhsa.gov Learn about the real risks for people who use marijuana, especially youth and young adults, and women who are pregnant or nursing. SAMHSA has online resources available at www.samhsa.gov/marijuana 

Watch this video to see some of our alumni and fellows sharing their experience as participants of the National Hispanic and Latino Executive Leadership and Fellowship Program! The National Hispanic and Latino Executive Leadership and Fellowship Program is designed to help entry-level to mid-level career leaders/managers become great leaders in their field. The program focuses on leadership capacity building offering behavioral health leaders the opportunity to discover and expand their leadership strengths and be better prepared when new and greater opportunities come up.

This webinar will explore common risk factors for mental health and substance use disorders.   The presentation is roughly divided into two evidence-based approaches to stigma-reduction and education:  Part 1 includes a personal testimony of co-occurring substance use disorder and mental health diagnoses.  Part 2 details the common risk factors and provides context for preventing and treating co-occurring disorders   Learning Objectives:  To compare risk factors for mental health and substance use disorders To apply research-informed approaches to preventing and/or supporting recovery from mental health and/or substance use disorders   About the Presenter:   Dr. Alex Elswick joined the Department of Family Sciences at the University of Kentucky in 2020 as an Assistant Extension Professor for Substance Use Prevention and Recovery.  He began his journey with the department as a graduate student in 2015, where he earned his Master’s and PhD and later served Family and Consumer Sciences Extension as an Extension Associate and as an Extension Specialist. Alex Elswick is a tireless advocate for people who use drugs and people with substance use disorders.  He currently serves the University of Kentucky as an Assistant Extension Professor for Substance Use Prevention and Recovery. He is a trained researcher and therapist, but most importantly, Alex is himself a person in long term recovery from the chronic disease of addiction.          

Webinar Description This event detailed successful processes for prevention professionals to communicate our prevention messages to the intended audiences and best approaches for using common communication vehicles. Learning Objectives Included: · Review communications goals in prevention · Review best practices to create and share messages that build community support for prevention initiatives · Identify strategic practices to apply in using communications tools to support prevention · Reinvigorate communications messages using a positive prevention frame   Presenter Information Kimberly Elliott is the communications director for Education Development Center's U.S. Division. She is a highly skilled nonprofit leader with 20 years of experience. Kim has been involved with all aspects of crafting meaningful and impactful messaging campaigns. She is a strategic storyteller, a book author, a highly successful grant writer, and is dedicated to helping prevention workforce professionals move our work forward by harnessing the power of words.  Ivy Jones Turner, MPA, CPS is an expert in behavioral and mental health promotion and prevention, is an experienced program leader, technical assistance (TA) specialist, applied researcher, and evaluator. Her expertise includes building the capacity of schools and organizations to research, implement, evaluate, and sustain interventions to prevent substance misuse, suicide, youth violence, and bullying, and to promote social-emotional and mental health. Ivy holds an MA in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and is a certified specialist in prevention and conflict mediation in Massachusetts.   Additional Documents  PowerPoint  Flyer  Supplemental Resource

Youth and Opioid Usage Nikita Danthi May 10, 2023, 1:00pm-2:30pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION This webinar will address the importance of education of opioid effects among high school students. We will examine how this lack of awareness of youth is impacted by systemic issues, and can cause misuse of the drug. This webinar will also discuss the effects and statistics of opioid use, as well as strategies for minimizing these inconsistencies faced by different communities. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Discuss the importance of addressing opioid usage and review the disproportionate impact of lack of education. Explain key considerations for serving people who are most impacted (the diverse communities). Understand the need for more education and awareness among high school students. Explain why early education is important and how it can lead to prevention. Review the challenges and opportunities the opioid epidemic has caused. PRESENTERS Nikita Danthi is an intern at the PTTC, and has been interning since January. She is a Psychology and Public Health dual degree on the population health track. She is also pursuing a Sociology minor, and will be graduating in May 2023.  

Preventing Underage Alcohol Use (April 2023 Series) Part 2: Strategies and Recommendations for Prevention Josh Esrick, MPP, and Emily Patton, MSc, PgDip April 27, 2023, 1:00pm-2:30pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION This webinar will discuss evidence-based prevention strategies for addressing underage alcohol use. It will cover both environmental and behavioral interventions, as well as opportunities to implement or expand policies and address the social determinants of health. The webinar will review both general strategies and those specifically focused on early adolescents or college-age youth. Lastly, it will provide an overview of Federal underage alcohol prevention efforts. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Recognize the importance of providing evidence-based alcohol misuse prevention strategies Describe evidence-based environmental strategies for preventing underage alcohol use Describe evidence-based behavioral strategies for preventing underage alcohol use among younger adolescents and college-age youth Identify Federal prevention efforts to address underage alcohol use PRESENTERS Josh Esrick, MPPJosh Esrick, MPP is a Senior Policy Analyst with Carnevale Associates. Josh has extensive experience in substance use prevention; researching, writing, and presenting on best practice and knowledge development publications, briefs, and reference guides; and developing and providing T/TA to numerous organizations. He developed numerous SAMHSA Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies’ (CAPT) products on strategies to prevent opioid misuse and overdose, risk and protective factors for substance use, youth substance use prevention strategies, youth substance use trends, emerging substance use trends, the potential regulations surrounding marijuana legalization, as well as numerous other topics. Emily Patton, MSEmily Patton, MSc, PgDip holds a Masters of Science in Abnormal and Clinical Psychology from Swansea University and a Postgraduate Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Edinburgh. She offers significant professional experience in the fields of public policy development and analysis, criminal justice research, data collection and analysis, program development, and performance management.

In this Issue:   National Alcohol Awareness Month Resources for the Prevention Professional National Women's Health Week, May 14-20 How to Find Help Epi Corner: Substance Use Disorders in People with Disabilities What's Happening Around the Region? Webinar: Substance Misuse Among Students with Disabilities, A 2-part series, April 26 and May 18 Free Online Courses through HealtheKnowledge SAMHSA's National Prevention Week, May 7-13

Media in Prevention: A three-part webinar series Webinar 2: Media Literacy as a Practical and Transferrable Skill April 11, 2023   Series Description Effectively using social media platforms and being media literate is critically important in a digital age. Improving prevention practitioners’ media literacy and their use of social media platforms can enhance communication with key audiences and result in more effective prevention efforts. This three-part webinar series aims to do this by helping participants better understand core concepts such as media literacy, social media strategies, and the role of advertising in substance use, and develop skills to think critically about social media, its’ messages, and its role in prevention. Webinar Description Digital environments are overloaded with information coming from many directions, and this can be difficult to navigate.  In a time of mis and disinformation, it is important to learn for ourselves and to help others how to verify credible sources of information. Media literacy education offers a set of skills to critically think about the source and content of the messages we consume.  In this webinar, we will discuss ways to become more media literate using questions, lateral reading, and recognizing signs of misinformation. This will involve practice activities, Q&A, and small group discussions to best explore this relevant topic. Objectives In this webinar, participants will explore understanding the skills required to actively inquire and critically think about messages we receive and create.  These skills include: Verifying sources of information to find and use credible sources. Lateral reading of content across multiple sources. Key questions to ask to evaluate information in media.   Webinar Recording and Slides Media in Prevention Webinar 2: Media Literacy-Practical and Transferrable Recording Media in Prevention Webinar 2: Media Literacy-Practical and Transferrable slide deck (PDF)   Additional Resources Alcohol Awareness Toolkit, Northwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center NAMLE - Key Questions to Ask When Analyzing Media Messages Infographic - How to Recognize Misinformation Media Literacy Resources-PTTC Presenter Shawn Domgaard is a 5th year PhD student (ABD, all but dissertation) at Washington State University, received a Master’s of Arts degree from Southern Utah University in Professional Communication. Shawn is happily married to his lovely wife Rachel, and they have three children.  He is originally from a small farm in northeastern Utah and loves to hike, draw, and play with his kids.  His goal in life is to help other people make evidence-based decisions that make their life better. Questions Contact Kathy Gardner ([email protected]) if you have additional questions about the content related to this webinar.

How Primary Care Can Address Youth Substance Use Disorders Jim Winkle, MPH April 13, 2023, 1:00pm-3:00pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION Medical and behavioral health professionals who work in primary care are in a unique position to help adolescents living with substance use disorders (SUDs), but often feel at a loss how to do so effectively, in a limited amount of time, and without conveying judgement. Adolescents living with SUDs, meanwhile, may face stigma from health professionals, and may not relate to a singular focus on treatment programs. This presentation will improve the ability of primary care professionals to screen for SUDs with adolescent patients and perform a four-step brief intervention model that enhances the motivation of patients to reduce their risk of harm. As a result, clinicians will be better able to help these patients forge their own pathway to recovery. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Demonstrate how to use a screening tool that quickly identifies possible substance use disorders with adolescent patients Demonstrate how to perform a four-step brief intervention that enhances the motivation of adolescents to change their substance use Explain how principles of harm reduction can help mitigate provider stigma and help adolescents reduce harm from substance use Describe best practices in referring adolescent patients to substance use treatment PRESENTER Jim Winkle, MPH, has trained hundreds of behavioral health professionals how to address substance use with clients and patients. As the creator behind the SBIRT Oregon website, Jim has designed screening forms, clinic tools and training videos used by professionals across the country.  

In this Issue:   What to Expect from the New Prevention Credentialing Exam Epi Corner: Substance Use Among Women A Resource from CADCA NIDA Funding Opportunity International Women's Day Florence Kelly What's Happening Around the Region? Webinar: Women and Alcohol, Drinking to Cope, March 23 Webinar: From Cleaning to Mapping Using Tableau Public, April 13 Webinar: Using ACE Data to Impact Substance Misuse Prevention, April 20 Free Online Courses through HealtheKnowledge Webinar: Substance Misuse Among Students with Disabilities, A 2-part series, April 26 and May 18 Poll Question: How have you supported youth K-12 with emotional and behavioral disorders in school settings? Join the SAPST Trainer Learning Community

  This webinar will cover the products typically utilized in vape devices, such as THC. We will also discuss the components and constituents and associated health risks. Finally, we will discuss available some resources for helping people quit smoking or vaping.   Learning Objectives: Participants will increase their understanding of vape function and product usage. Participants will be able to restate the risks of vaping after the event. Participants will map policy concerns about vaping for their state/region. Participants will be able to find and recommend resources for their clients.   About the Presenter: Dr. Mary Martinasek is an Associate Professor in Public Health at the University of Tampa. She is also a registered respiratory therapist, a certified asthma educator, a tobacco treatment and health education specialist. Mary’s research is focused on hookah smoking and vaping electronic nicotine delivery devices; however, she also conducted a systematic review on the respiratory effects of inhalational marijuana. Her recent manuscripts have focused on the relationship of Adverse Childhood Experiences as predictors of vaping and tobacco use, asthma and vaping, and social marketing campaigns for hookah reduction.  

The March 2023 (Part 2) Dialogue contains articles on: Mental Health: Celebrating Women in Medicine  |  Regional Spotlight: Sean's House. Additional sections include behavioral health observances, virtual training and webinar events, Region 3 news, and new resources. The Dialogue is designed to inform behavioral and mental health professionals of news and upcoming events in the Central East states. This electronic newsletter is disseminated on the first Tuesday of each month. You are encouraged to provide us with any feedback or submit articles and topics for discussion in future issues of the newsletter.  Sign up to receive the Dialogue in your mailbox.