SPECTRUM OF PREVENTION

The Spectrum of Prevention helps expand prevention efforts beyond education models by promoting a multifaceted range of activities for effective prevention. Originally developed by Larry Cohen while he was director of the Contra Costa Health Services Prevention Program, the Spectrum is based on the work of Dr. Marshall Swift in treating developmental disabilities. It has been used nationally in prevention initiatives targeting traffic safety, violence prevention, injury prevention, nutrition, and fitness.

The Spectrum identifies multiple levels of intervention and encourages people to move beyond the perception that prevention is about teaching healthy behaviors. The Spectrum's six levels for strategy development (listed below) is a framework for a more comprehensive understanding of prevention. These levels are complementary and when used together produce a synergy that results in greater effectiveness than would be possible by implementing any single activity. At each level, the most important activities related to prevention objectives should be identified. As these activities are identified, they will lead to interrelated actions at other levels of the Spectrum.

  1 Page Description of the Spectrum (PDF)

  Full Article on the Spectrum (PDF)

"Thank you, once again, for this treasure.  [The Spectrum] provides a roadmap for creative, structured thinking every time I introduce it to a group.  It’s one of my best teaching tools..."

- Kathleen M. Roe, DrPH, MPH, Professor/Chair, Health Science Department, San Jose State University

 

“The Spectrum of Prevention provides a clear picture of the actions that are needed to accomplish social norms change.”

                                                                               - Web Forum Participant

Prevention Institute papers illustrating the Spectrum’s use:

• Sexual Violence and The Spectrum of Prevention: Towards a Community Solution: July 2006

• Business Sector Action Checklist: September 2004 (PDF)

• First Steps: Taking Action Early to Prevent Violence: June 2002

• Strategies for Action: Integrating Nutrition and Physical Activity Promotion to Reach Low-Income Californians: October 2001

• Cultivating Peace in Salinas: June 2001 (Also available in Spanish)

• The Spectrum of Prevention: Developing a Comprehensive Approach to Injury Prevention: 1999

• Beyond Brochures: Preventing Alcohol-Related Violence and Injuries

• Kids' Plates: The Spectrum of Prevention for Childhood and Adolescent Injury Prevention

Other examples of the Spectrum’s use:

• The Wellmark Foundation used the Spectrum to shape their 2008 funding agenda, including planning grants, community-based program implementation, organizational capacity-building, and health policy advancement.

• A Framework for Health Promotion (PDF)

The Prevention & Education Task Force, as part of the Carlisle Area Health and Wellness Foundation, use the Spectrum as a template to improve health practices and the overall status of community wellness in this report.

• A Program Manual for Child Death Review: Strategies to Better Understand Why Children Die and Taking Action to Prevent Child Deaths (PDF)

In this comprehensive manual, the National Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Center for Child Death Review offers the Spectrum as a tool to aid Child Death Review (CDR) Teams develop comprehensive approaches to predicting, understanding, and preventing injuries to children.

• Action Plan 2002, Protecting Our Children: Strategies for Injury Prevention (PDF)

A publication of the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition/SAFE KIDS Hawaii (KIPC), the action plan uses the Spectrum as a framework for developing a comprehensive, effective prevention approach to identifying injury trends and preventing childhood injuries in Hawaii.

• Building Peace: Overcoming Violence in Communities

A book published in December 2004 by the World Council of Churches (WCC) as part of their Risk Series for use in the WCC Decade to Overcome Violence, adapted the Spectrum to peace-building activities and used it as a base for organizing community efforts.

• ICAN-NCFR California Death Review Curriculum and Training Manual (PDF)

The Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN) and the National Center on Child Fatality Review (NCFR) use the Spectrum in their Curriculum and Training Manual, Child Death Review in California, a living document dedicated to those who have devoted themselves to the understanding and prevention of child death and serious injury.

• RCPs' Role in Primary Smoking Prevention Programs

A 2002 article published in RT Magazine, uses the Spectrum as a guide for developing smoking prevention programs and discusses actions that respiratory care practitioners (RCPs) can take to prevent respiratory disease.

• Sonke Gender Justice Project (PDF)

The Sonke Gender Justice Project adopted and adapted the Spectrum to effect sustained change and to promote effective partnerships through their Spectrum of Change: A Tool for Integrated Public Health Approaches.

• Teen Driving Safety Initiative Solution Matrix (PDF)

The city of Grand Junction, Colorado utilized the Spectrum as a framework for their matrix.

• Transitioning to Obesity Prevention: Harnessing WIC’s Success to Promote Healthy Eating and Active Living (PDF)

In collaboration with California’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program, Prevention Institute facilitated a six month policy development process intended to shape California WIC’s direction and priorities for obesity prevention in the coming decade.  Transitioning to Obesity Prevention explores how the WIC community can make the broad environmental changes necessary to support the ability of WIC participants to make healthy choices for themselves and their families, while also considering possible new or strengthened partnerships and collaborations.

• Yakima County's Nurse Family Partnership Plan for Sustainability (PDF)

The Nurse Family Partnership (NFP), a national nonprofit organization committed to producing enduring improvements in the health and well being of low-income, first-time parents and their children, used the Spectrum as a framework for developing an effective and sustainable evidence-based program of home visiting by registered nurses in Yakima County, Washington.

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