Beyond brochures: a systematic approach to prevention

The Prevention Program of Contra Costa County in Northern California is a division of the Health Services Department, and functions to coordinate existing community efforts in the promotion of health and prevention of disease. Public health issues of current concern include chronic disease and safety; the relation between alcohol, drugs, and violence; hunger and unemployment; management of toxic substances; and environmental health hazards. The goals of the Prevention Program are to combine various prevention activities while controlling costs. The program encourages the coalition of community providers. In addition, many health-related agencies can more easily accomplish tasks with the visible support of the Health Department. Coordination of the community coalition's efforts involves planning, recruitment of members, research, media work, obtaining political support, and achieving credibility. The program has published a pamphlet describing an eight-step procedure for establishing a community coalition as well as a video showing the various approaches towards effective preventive activities. For example, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, and the American Lung Association united to form the Smoking Education Coalition to discourage smoking and thereby prevent smoking-induced cancer, and heart and lung diseases. Other preventive activities in Contra Costa County involved adopting an ordinance to control smoking in the workplace, restaurants, and public settings, and passage of the Tobacco Tax Initiative to generate revenues for smoking prevention and treatment of disease due to smoking. The program is funded by federal, state, county, and city agencies, which have been involved in activities to prevent traffic hazards, violence and substance abuse among youths and hunger. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)