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Prevention Program Perceptions and Attitudes: A Community Outreach Campaign in Lane County, Oregon

December 21, 2011

Amanda Cobb & Jessica Matthiesen www.hprnw.org

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Background

• Overall goal:

– Gauge community perceptions, assess attitudes towards the prevention topics and current resources

3

Background

• Two areas of focus (two sets of focus groups):

– Childhood gambling (parents)

• Current prevention resources

• Identify opportunities to expand services

• Identify ways to provide education to families

– Community coalitions (public)

• Perceptions of department/needs

• Identify opportunities to expand/collaborate

• Assess community readiness to create or expand

4

Methods

• Six focus groups, intercept surveys on both topics

• Eugene/Springfield, Cottage Grove, Florence

• Questions adapted from similar research, approved by Lane County

• Recruited at community centers, direct calls to community agencies

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Methods General public, agency leaders and parents who responded to an intercept survey or

participated in a focus group in Lane County (N=109), 2011

Site Date Type Participants Forum Cottage Grove 6/29/2011 Community 3 Focus Grp Cottage Grove 6/29/2011 Community 14 Intercept Svy Eug/Spgfld 6/27/2011 Community 9 Intercept Svy Eug/Spgfld 6/28/2011 Community 22 Intercept Svy Eug/Spgfld 7/1/2011 Community 4 Focus Grp Florence 7/1/2011 Community 3 Focus Grp Florence 7/1/2011 Community 7 Intercept Svy Cottage Grove 6/29/2011 Parent 10 Intercept Svy Cottage Grove 7/7/2011 Parent 3 Intercept Svy Eug/Spgfld 6/25/2011 Parent 3 Focus Grp Eug/Spgfld 6/29/2011 Parent 11 Intercept Svy Eug/Spgfld 7/1/2011 Parent 5 Focus Grp Eug/Spgfld 7/1/2011 Parent 8 Intercept Svy Florence 7/7/2011 Parent 7 Intercept Svy

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Focus Groups

• Small (10 participants or less)

• 90 minutes allotted

• Demographics survey required

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Intercept Surveys

• Surveys for both coalition interest and childhood gambling

• Conducted in busy public areas

• Given to one to two individuals at a time

• Discussion facilitated similar to focus groups

• Included demographics survey

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Focus Groups &

Intercept Surveys

• Both sparked discussion between participants

• Non-verbal cues noted

• Surveys aggregated and searched for themes

• Focus groups transcribed

• Both incentivized

Community Perceptions of Prevention

Department and Prevention Needs

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Demographic Representation

• 62 participants

• (57%) Eugene and Springfield, 27% Cottage Grove, 16% Florence

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Demographic Representation General public and agency leaders who responded to an intercept survey or

participated in a focus group in Lane County (N=62), 2011.

Demographic

Characteristic

Number of

Participants

(N=62)

Percent of Sample

County

Percentages in

2010

Location* (n=62)

Eugene/Springfield 35 56.5% 89.7%

Cottage Grove 17 27.4% 6.2%

Florence 10 16.1% 3.8%

Age*€ (n=60)

18-39 years 19 31.7% 33.3%

40-64 years 35 58.3% 48.8%

65 or older 6 10.0% 17.9%

Gender* (n=57)

Male 21 36.8% 49.0%

Female 36 63.2% 51.0%

* US Census Bureau, 2010. € County percentages in 2010 adjusted for comparability to project population.

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Demographic Representation General public and agency leaders who responded to an intercept survey or

participated in a focus group in Lane County (N=62), 2011.

Demographic

Characteristic

Number of

Participants (N=62)

Percent of

Sample

County Percentages

in 2010

Employment Status∞ (n=59)

Employed Full-time 22 37.3% --

Employed Part-time 15 25.4% --

Unemployed 18 30.5% 11.4%

Full-time Parent 4 6.8% --

Educational Attainment£ (n=60)

Less than high school 1 1.7% 10.0%

High school 9 15.0% 25.8%

Some college or technical

school

20 33.3% 36.9%

College graduate 17 28.3% 16.3%

Post-college 13 21.7% 11.0%

∞ U.S. Department of Employment, 2011 £ US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2010

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Interest in Coalition Involvement Lane County general public and agency leaders’ interest in

prevention activities (N=62), 2011.

17 24

10

29 6 20

9

6

17

18

20

18 50

46 59 20

9 10

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Eugene/ Springfield Cottage Grove Florence

Missing

Not interested

All of the topics

Suicide Prevention only

Problem Gambling only

Mental HealthPromotion only

Alcohol and Drug AbusePrevention only

n=35 n=17 n=10

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Coalition Involvement Preferences Lane County general public and agency leaders’ interest in prevention

activities (N=62), 2011.

23 18 40

20 12

50 14

40 37

35

40 29 35

40 20 18

20

6

29 18

6 6 10

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Eugene/Springfield

Cottage Grove Florence

Missing

Prefer not to be involved

Other method

Social networking site

Receive a newsletter

Stay updated via email

Attend a virtual meetingonlineAttend a public forum

Attend a quarterly meeting

n=35

n=17 n=10

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Focus Groups and Intercept

Surveys - Community

• Knowledge of the Prevention Program

• Thoughts on the severity of specific health problems in Lane County

• Ideas on how to involve the general public and agency leaders in community coalitions

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Public Perceptions

• Majority of participants not familiar with Lane County Prevention Program

• Those that were familiar knew of efforts to: – Help low income families

– Teach people to live healthy lives

– Provide online services

– Provide pamphlets on suicide prevention and Healthy Babies, Healthy Communities

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Community Needs

• Eugene/Springfield: – Alcohol and drug abuse – Mental health – Suicide

• Cottage Grove – Alcohol and drug abuse – Mental Health

• Florence: – Alcohol and drug abuse

• 60% of all respondents felt gambling was not a problem

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Community Needs

• Eugene/Springfield

– Increase services available

– More outreach/build awareness

– More counseling services

– Centralized phone number for crises

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Community Needs

• Cottage Grove:

– Local community services for youth

– Counseling and mentoring

– Increased presence of Eugene/Springfield-based social services

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Community Needs

• Florence:

– Low-cost activities for youth

– Increase awareness of issues like drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, gambling

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Prevention Needs

• Drug and alcohol abuse:

– Increased counseling

– Community classes/groups

• Mental health

– Place mental health specialists in schools

– Lower costs for patients

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Prevention Needs

• Gambling – Services for money management

– Low/no cost treatment programs

– Increased counseling or mentoring

• Suicide – Lower mental health treatment costs

– More counseling for parents and youth

– Increase and support youth activities

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Coalition Activity

• How the Prevention Program can assist/partner with existing coalitions:

– Low-cost services (money or grant-writing assistance)

– Services, facility space, administrative support

– Training and curriculum assistance

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Coalition Activity

• To organize/lead a coalition:

– Hold face-to-face meetings

– Provide consistent leadership

– Create a clear mission

– Partner on projects with existing agencies or organizations

Childhood Gambling

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Parent Demographics

• 47 parents participated or were surveyed

– 57% Eugene/Springfield,

– 28% Cottage Grove,

– 15% Florence

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Demographic Representation Parents who responded to an intercept survey or participated in a focus group in Lane

County (N=47), 2011.

Demographic

Characteristic

Number of

Participants

(N=47)

Percent of Sample

County

Percentages in

2010€

Location* (n=47)

Eugene/Springfield 27 57.4% 89.7%

Cottage Grove 13 27.7% 6.2%

Florence 7 14.9% 3.8%

Gender* (n=46)

Male 15 32.6% 49.0%

Female 31 67.4% 51.0%

Race/Ethnicity* (n=45)

White/Caucasian 39 86.7% 84.7%

Hispanic 4 8.9% 7.4%

Other 2 4.4% -- * US Census Bureau, 2010. € County percentages in 2010 adjusted for comparability to project population (18 and older)

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Demographic Representation Parents who responded to an intercept survey or participated in a focus group

in Lane County (N=47), 2011.

Demographic

Characteristic

Number of

Participants (N=47)

Percent of

Sample

County Percentages

in 2010

Employment Status∞ (n=37)

Employed Full-time 19 51.4% --

Employed Part-time 8 21.6% --

Unemployed 6 16.2% 11.4%

Full-time Parent 4 10.8% --

Educational Attainment£ (n=46)

Less than high school 1 2.2% 10.0%

High school 7 15.2% 25.8%

Some college or technical

school

16 34.8% 36.9%

College graduate 12 26.1% 16.3%

Post-college 10 21.7% 11.0% ∞ U.S. Department of Employment, 2011 £ US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2010

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Childhood Gambling

• Kinds of activities parents would consider gambling

• How common do parents think childhood gambling is

• Do parents have concerns about childhood gambling

• Do parents believe there could be a link between gambling and other behaviors such as substance abuse or school absenteeism

• What would parents do/who they would contact if they thought their child had a problem with gambling

• How would parents discuss gambling with a child

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Childhood Gambling

• What activities are gambling?

– Games where money or goods are exchanged (cards, fantasy football)

– Bets for no money/goods

– Online games played with virtual money

– Lottery

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Childhood Gambling

• How common is gambling in children 9 and older?

– Majority of parents thought it at least somewhat common

– Many who had never considered the possibility did not believe their children gambled or would be interested in gambling

– Internet makes it easy to gamble

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Childhood Gambling

• How much of a concern is it?

– One in four parents had concerns; others felt it was a concern, but not for their own children

– Half of Cottage Grove parents thought it was of concern

– Less than 20% of Eugene/Springfield and Florence parents thought it was of concern

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Childhood Gambling

• The link between gambling and:

– Substance use

– Mental health issues

– Peer pressure and bullying

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Childhood Gambling

• Most parents were unsure:

– How to tell if their child had a problem

– Where to go for help

– How to talk to their child about gambling

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Childhood Gambling

• Outreach and education:

– Start talking to children early

– Educate in school assemblies

– Conversations at home, one-on-one

– Parent groups/panels

– Internet/television/radio advertising

– Pre-movie advertising

Key Findings

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County-Wide Recommendations

• Promote and educate on the Prevention Program’s focus and services

• Facilitate access to mental health services in schools

• Consider using intercept surveys in lieu of focus groups when assessing public opinion

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Area-Specific Recommendations

• Dedicate staff to Cottage Grove for consistent meetings

• Coordinate or partner with Florence agencies to provide teen programs

• Provide and/or promote telephone referral assistance in the Eugene/Springfield metro area

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Youth Gambling

Recommendations

• Create and distribute information on: – How to talk with kids about gambling

– How to monitor online access

• Organize a youth gambling panel to educate children and raise awareness

• Look for creative ways to provide PSAs