State and Regional Network Development for Substance Abuse Prevention in New Hampshire

Lea Ayers LaFave, PhD, RN, MLC-3 Project Director, Community Health Institute/JSI in Bow in New Hampshire

Project Description

The New Hampshire Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services has created a prevention infrastructure that includes ten Regional Networks throughout the state. The networks include organizations throughout the state that have a vested interest in preventing substance use in NH’s communities. The role of the networks is to collaborate statewide and regionally to support and sustain the work of substance use prevention at the local level. It is important that these networks are operating at the optimal level to ensure synergy. When our networks work synergistically, we have the greatest chance to make a positive impact on substance use rates locally, regionally and statewide. We are using the PARTNER Tool to measure synergy at both the state level (Round I) and the regional level (Round II). We are currently measuring baseline and will continue to administer the PARTNER Tool on an annual basis to evaluate the progress of our continued systems and infrastructure development work.

Products Using PARTNER Data

Measuring Synergy within/across New Hampshire (Round I)

Use of Social Network Analysis in Public Health Practice: Community Strategic Planning for Substance Abuse Prevention (APHA powerpoint)

Use Of PARTNER Survey Findings: Informing Community Strategic Plan Development (brochure)

Testimonial

“We have worked with Dr. Varda over the past two years, and utilized the PARTNER tool to assess the collaborative function of community-based quality improvement learning teams. The PARTNER tool has enabled us to assess how we work together for health improvement planning and identify how we can target our efforts to optimize capacity development. The application for measuring outcomes is especially helpful in documenting the value of our work, particularly since they can be modified to meet the specific needs of the collaborative. Dr. Varda is accessible and responsive to our unique education and application needs. It is a pleasure to work with Dr. Varda and her team.”

Lea Ayers LaFave, PhD, RN, MLC-3 Project Director
Community Health Institute/JSI
Bow, NH