Exploring the strategic prevention framework (SPF) and its application to a comprehensive substance abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention initiative: Evidence from project C.O.P.E. (Communities Organizing for Prevention and Empowerment)

The inextricable link between substance abuse and HIV/AIDS poses a serious public health threat in the United States. Of particular concern has been the detrimental impact that this crisis has wrought on urban centers, where people of color, particularly racial and ethnic minority youth, are disproportionately impacted by this twin epidemic. The U.S. federal government has made a concerted effort to fund demonstration projects through its Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) in geographic areas with high rates of substance abuse and HIV/AIDS prevalence, with the specific intent of introducing culturally-resonant, model prevention protocols with proven effectiveness. Responding to this public health emergency, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), introduced the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) to guide prevention planning and implementation efforts throughout the U.S. This paper illustrates the five steps of the SPF (e.g., assessment, capacity, planning, implementation, and evaluation) by describing its application to Project C.O.P.E. (Communities Organizing for Prevention and Empowerment), which is a comprehensive substance abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention program located in the northeastern United States.