Prevention
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (1995) defines
prevention:
"Prevention is the process which provides people with the resources
necessary to confront stressful life conditions and avoid behaviors which could
result in negative, physical, psychological, or social outcomes by:
- Promoting awareness, knowledge, competency, and skills.
- Promoting self-esteem and self-reliance.
- Promoting increased coping ability.
- Promoting support systems in families, schools, workplaces, and community
environments.
- Promoting conditions for healthy lifestyles and resistance to physical and
psychological illness and disease.
- Promoting environmental conditions for a healthy community.
Prevention strategies are designed to be implemented before the onset of
problems and may be targeted to the larger community or to specific
populations." (p. 5)
Lofquist (1993) defines prevention as "an active process of creating conditions and fostering personal attributes which promote the well-being of people" (p. 1).
Gibbs and Bennett (1990) define prevention in terms of risk and
protective factors:
"Prevention can now be defined as a collaborative school and community process
to plan and implement multiple strategies that:
- reduce specific risk factors contributing to tobacco, alcohol and
drug use, and related behavioral problems among youth; and
- strengthen a set of protective factors to
ensure young people's health and well-being." (p. 11)
The following sources contain further information on prevention:
References
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