title: Enhancing the capacity of substance abuse prevention coalitions through training and technical assistance.
abstract: Community capacity may be enhanced through intermediary supports that provide training and technical assistance (TA). This study used a randomized pre/posttest design to assess the impact of training and TA on coalition capacity. Seven community coalitions from the Midwest participated in the 2-year study, which included 36 hours of training, followed by monthly TA calls to support action planning implementation for prioritized processes. Collaborative processes most commonly identified as high-need areas for TA were Developing Organizational Structure, Documenting Progress, Making Outcomes Matter, and Sustaining the Work. Based on a coalition survey, the average change for processes prioritized through TA across all seven coalitions was .27 (SD = .29), while the average change for non-prioritized processes was .09 (SD = .20) (t(6) = 4.86, p = .003, d = 1.84). The findings from this study suggest that TA can increase coalition capacity for implementing collaborative processes using a participatory approach.
authors.affiliation: Work Group for Community Health and Development, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA. jomellaw@ku.edu
authors.forename: Jomella
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Watson-Thompson
authors.forename: Nikki Keene
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Woods
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Schober
authors.forename: Jerry A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Schultz
mesh_terms: D057191:Capacity Building; D019058:Community Networks; D006290:Health Planning Technical Assistance; D006801:Humans; D015146:Midwestern United States; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires