Joan Masters, Senior Coordinator of Partners in Prevention, recently shared valuable insights on Prevention Profiles: Take Five about coordinating substance use prevention efforts across an entire state. During the interview, Joan discussed challenges and successes with statewide coordination, advice for campus- and community-based staff on maintaining prevention momentum during disruptions, guidance for new professionals starting prevention work, and much more.

Partners in Prevention has operated as a coalition since 1999-2000, beginning with publicly funded colleges and universities in Missouri to address high-risk drinking. The programme has since expanded to include 27 colleges and universities, both two-year and four-year, private and public institutions, dedicated to creating healthier and safer campus environments for students.

Understanding Campus Prevention Strategies Across Different Institutions

Effective campus prevention strategies must recognise that whilst core student issues remain consistent across institutions, the way risk and protective factors manifest varies significantly between campuses. As Joan explains, the challenge lies in understanding the different needs of “a two-year rural institution versus a highly competitive four-year research institution.”

The Missouri coalition provides funding, conducts annual surveys for data-driven approaches, and offers technical assistance to help campuses succeed. This tailored approach ensures that prevention efforts address the specific circumstances of each campus community rather than applying generic solutions.

Data-Driven Prevention Through Regular Assessment

Missouri’s assessment work centres on the Missouri Collegiate Alcohol and Other Drug Survey, which enables campuses to understand what their students are actually experiencing. Joan emphasises that without assessment, prevention efforts would be “all just guesswork.”

Recent survey data has revealed surprising trends, including decreasing cannabis use rates after Missouri’s adult legal cannabis legislation, significant rises in tobacco use due to new products, and concerning patterns of co-use where students use multiple substances simultaneously, particularly alcohol combined with cannabis or prescription drugs.

Perhaps most importantly, the data shows that almost half of students in every substance category are ready to change their usage patterns or are actively trying to change. This finding challenges assumptions that college students simply want to use substances and will quit when they’re ready.

Building Campus Prevention Strategies Through Relationships

One of the most critical elements Joan identifies for successful prevention work is building genuine relationships across campus communities. This involves understanding what motivates different stakeholders rather than simply expecting them to support prevention efforts.

Joan references prevention expert Pat Fabiano’s concept of “a hundred cups of coffee,” the importance of sitting down with colleagues to understand their roles, concerns, and aspirations. This relationship-building approach helps create what Joan calls “capacity,” ensuring prevention work isn’t tied to a single office or person but becomes integrated into the university’s strategic work.

Maintaining Prevention Efforts During Disruption

Universities face unexpected challenges ranging from severe weather to public health emergencies. Joan’s experience during COVID-19 demonstrates how established systems and relationships enable prevention work to continue during crises.

Because Partners in Prevention had built strong relationships and established research protocols over 20 years, they were able to quickly implement a wellbeing survey during COVID-19 when their regular 2020 data became unusable. About half their campuses participated, providing critical information about how the pandemic was affecting students.

The key principle Joan advocates is maintaining core prevention activities including data collection, relationship building, intentional planning and implementation, and evaluation, regardless of external circumstances.

Supporting New Prevention Professionals

Joan emphasises that prevention is “difficult work” that requires ongoing professional development. She recommends new professionals seek mentors, understand core frameworks like the Strategic Prevention Framework, and ask supervisors about available training and professional development support.

The field now has more resources, including professional competencies for prevention and higher education-specific competencies. Joan stresses the importance of not getting caught up in “shiny penny” interventions that generate excitement but lack evidence of effectiveness.

Her advice centres on incremental learning—understanding that building expertise happens gradually rather than all at once. This approach helps prevent the overwhelming feeling that can drive people away from prevention work.

Prevention as Community Engagement

Effective campus prevention strategies recognise that creating safer environments is everyone’s responsibility. Joan describes programmes like “Engage,” a multilevel bystander intervention programme that teaches students to look out for one another regarding alcohol and drug concerns, mental health issues, physical safety, and interpersonal violence.

This approach frames prevention as part of broader community engagement, teaching students to be engaged community members who care for their environment and each other. Joan uses the analogy of returning shopping trolleys to their designated areas as an example of this community-minded approach.

The Importance of Dosage and Sustained Effort

Joan identifies two primary reasons prevention efforts fail: inadequate dosage and insufficient relationship capacity. Like completing a full course of antibiotics, prevention interventions require sustained implementation rather than one-time intensive efforts.

She notes that prevention coordinators often grow tired of their programmes before students have actually absorbed the messages. Social norms campaigns, for example, may seem omnipresent to staff who know where to look for them, but students may only just be beginning to notice and process the information.

Joan advocates for staying present-focused rather than worrying about uncertain funding futures, comparing prevention work to tending coals in a fireplace and providing steady warmth rather than dramatic flames.

Sustaining Personal and Professional Commitment

Joan’s final advice centres on remembering why prevention work matters and taking care of oneself to sustain long-term commitment. She emphasises that prevention professionals must model self-care and lifelong learning, noting that after 25 years in the field, she continues to be inspired by colleagues both new to the field and veterans with decades of experience.

The work requires building genuine relationships, understanding what colleagues need and care about, and maintaining focus on the core mission of protecting student health and safety. As Joan notes, this foundation, similar to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, enables students to handle the challenges and opportunities of their academic and personal lives.