Environmental Strategies for Prevention
A Guide To Helping the Prevention Professional Work Effectively in the Community

Module 1: An Introduction to Environmental Strategies - Page 4 of 21

Altering the Landscape

Changing the environment is no guarantee that all individuals will change their behavior. But experience has shown that it is possible to have an influence on the conditions surrounding that behavior -- frequently by altering the social norms, passing new laws, and decreasing the availability of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs.

Environmental interventions can be used to address a variety of issues. Because such a large proportion of prevention activities focus on substance abuse, most of the examples and strategies in this course refer to substance abuse prevention.

The chart below illustrates the differences between approaches that target individuals and those that target the environment in preventing the use or abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

Prevention Strategies for Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ATOD) ref

Individual Prevention Strategies Environmental Prevention Strategies
Designed to change the individual's attitudes or behaviors relating to ATOD use. Designed to change the social, political, and economic context where ATODs are used.
Programs may be run in schools, churches, or community-based organizations. Strategies may be developed and implemented through various sectors in the community.
Educate youth about the harmful effects of ATOD, teach life skills, and build resiliency. Involves changing availability of ATODs, laws and policies, and community norms.
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