Are findings from efficacy studies of prevention relevant to public mental health?
In public health, successful prevention interventions need to be deliverable to large numbers of individuals, need to be cost-effective, and need to deliver the information or training directly so that intervention fidelity (accurate and consistent reproduction) is maintained. Many public health prevention programs have been implemented in the past two decades at work-sites, schools and within the general community to change risk factors (such as smoking and high-fat diets) and thus prevent diseases (such as cardiovascular disease and cancer). In one review of outcomes of these trials, the authors noted that the “next generation of community-based intervention” should be tailored to the needs of individuals, and involve the community in the planning process.6 In addiction research, successful interventions require that messages be customised to a person’s motivational stage.7 The model describes five stages of change (pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenan
