Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Data in substance abuse prevention planning is essential to any type of prevention planning methodology.
In other words, you need data to inform your planning
and strategic planning process, as well as your strategic implementation of prevention priorities,
be they strategies or interventions.
You need to have data that speaks to
substance abuse trends, incidence,
prevalence,
as well as morbidity and mortality.
That defines who you're working with, who you should be working with,
and it also defines the programming you should actually implement
based upon your target population--which is based upon epidemiology.
What are the factors that have made Michigan's data system successful?
One of the factors would be collaboration
among the data systems within our State.
And I'm talking primarily about the data systems that pertain to education,
community health, public health,
as well as mental health.
But we've also been very fortunate that we were able to
develop working relationships with other departments, such as the Michigan State
Police, primarily the Office of Highway Safety Planning. So because of the
Strategic Prevention Framework--and, quite frankly, because of the State Incentive Grant,
we were able to develop those relationships early on, maybe six or seven years ago.
And so with the SPF SIG we were able to perfect those relationships
to the point where there's been a seamless flow of information between the
data systems. So we're very fortunate in that regard.
We've been able to identify gaps
in our data-gathering methodology and we're trying to shore up those gaps. And
we're doing so with the help
of the very data systems and the personnel
that are involved with those data systems.
The role of the State Epidemiological Workgroup in the process of perfecting our data system
has been continuous dialogue
within the State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup. We have epidemiologists from a
variety of departments--the Department of Public Health, the Department of
State Police, the Department of Education, for example. And they share information with the SEOW.
We have coalitions that are also in the SEOW.
And we have service providers. And we also have substance abuse prevention
administrators. In addition, we also have, on the mental health side, we
have individuals from our mental health administration
serving on the SEOW, as well. So it's a free-flowing
type of event when we do get together. And data is readily shared
between all of the membership.
And we get things done.