Age of Onset. Age of first use of substance Agent- In the public health model, the agent is the catalyst, substance, or organism causing the health problem. In the case of substance abuse, agents are the sources, supplies and availability. Assumptions- Assumptions explain the connections between immediate, intermediate, and long-term outcomes and expectations about how your approach is going to work. Capacity- The various types and levels of resources that an organization or collaborative has at its disposal to meet the implementation demands of specific interventions. Capacity Building—Increasing the ability and skills of individuals, groups and organizations to plan, undertake and manage initiatives. Coalition—A formal arrangement for cooperation and collaboration between groups or sectors of a community, in which each group retains its identity but all agree to work together toward a common goal to building a safe and healthy, drug free community. Community-level change- This is change that occurs within the target population in your target area. Cultural competence- (1) A set of behaviors, attitudes and policies that come together in a system, agency or program or among individuals, enabling them to function effectively in diverse cultural interactions and similarities within, among and between groups. (2) A point on a continuum with several guiding principles that enable coalitions to have positive interactions in culturally diverse environments. Cultural diversity- Differences in race, ethnicity, language, nationality, or religion among various groups within a community. A community is said to be culturally diverse if its residents include members of different groups. Distributed leadership- A model of leadership in which key functions are shared among all members Environment- In the public health model, the environment is the context in which the host and the agent exist. The environment creates conditions that increase or decrease the chance that the host will become susceptible and the agent more effective. In the case of substance abuse, the environment is the societal climate that encourages, supports, reinforces or sustains problematic use of drugs. Evidence-based approach or strategy- An evidence-based approach/strategy has research information to suggest that it really works, that the intervention, not something else, brought about the observed improvements in related behavior and outcome. Fidelity—Conforming exactly to the program design. Framework- A fra...
Age of Onset. One of the most studied outcome predictor is age of illness onset. An earlier age at onset was associated with poor outcome in terms of symptoms remission and number of hospital admissions after over 10 years (Xxxxx, Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx, & Xxxxxxxxxxxx, 2013; Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxx, & Xxxxxx, 2006). A meta-analysis by Xxxxxxx (Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx, & Xxxxxxxxx, 2017) did not show any association of age at onset with remission, general clinical outcome, positive symptoms or total symptoms, and found only a small association with more hospitalizations, more negative symptoms, more relapses, poorer social/occupational functioning.
