TOWARD A FRAMEWORK FOR BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND PRACTICE IN PREVENTION - A FOCUS ON EVALUATOR AND PRACTITIONER PERSPECTIVES

In the past decade, government agencies and foundations have funded nu merous community-driven initiatives in the ai ea of prevention that ha ve demonstrated,mixed results in terms of outcomes and impacts. This a rticle addresses several challenges faced by community-driven initiati ves that may limit the attainment of significant program outcomes. A p reliminary framework is presented that identifies the current state of prevention practice, the contributions of prevention science, and the barriers that limit the reciprocal transfer of knowledge between prac tice and science. Evaluation strategies are also presented which addre ss these barriers, potentially bridging the gap between prevention sci ence and prevention practice. The perspectives of those in the field a le included through the presentation of the results of a survey of 101 Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) project directors, evalu ators, and consultants. Although the focus is on evaluator and practit ioner perspectives, the purpose of the paper is to stimulate discussio n and action among the multiple stakeholders in the field of preventio n. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.