Perceptions of Community Influences on Substance Misuse through Prevention Professionals' Lens: Mobile Application Photos Collected to Help Target Policy Change

Background/Purpose

The substance misuse prevention field has increasingly adopted models that utilize coalitions representing diverse sectors to implement data-driven environmental strategies, such as policy change, that target change across an entire population or community. The substance misuse prevention state-level partners in New Jersey (NJ) developed Be the One, a mobile application (app) used by the prevention community to collect photos taken within their communities that are perceived as positive or negative influences on substance abuse. Mobile app users use this ‘lens’ as they observe their communities and their photos can help drive policy and action to change the environment to encourage healthier choices around substance use. When this mobile app launched, the diverse sectors involved in substance misuse prevention began to observe their communities with a new lens: how their environment influences substance misuse. Be the One was created through federal funding in late 2013 for the purpose of community members to share their community view and take action. By posting pictures to this app, prevention partners are able to identify where they might target policy change efforts. This qualitative study analyzed photos collected through Be the One to describe the views from the prevention field in NJ and to help determine potential policy change.

 Methods

Users upload photos and corresponding comments to Be the One for approval and publication within the app. Photos deemed inappropriate or irrelevant are not approved for publication to the app. A total of 212 approved photos and the associated user comments published between 2016 – 2018 were downloaded from Be the One and organized into Microsoft Excel and Word data files. These data files were uploaded into Atlas.ti software for an iterative coding process by two coders. Qualitative content analysis was conducted to classify codes and identify emergent themes.

 Results

Analysis yielded four overall themes. First, alcohol and tobacco were the most frequent substances highlighted in the photos, both positive (e.g., alcohol awareness efforts, tobacco-free zones) and negative influences (e.g., cigarette machines with no monitoring of those purchasing). Second, litter was a very prominent community consequence of substance misuse, both alcohol and tobacco litter. Third, users photographed examples of product placement (e.g., drinking games featured next to family friendly games) and widespread marketing that promoted substance misuse. Forth, many photos and user comments were associated with positive efforts of coalitions, partners (e.g., law enforcement), and youth groups working to address substance misuse in their communities. For example, photos captured youth working on a prevention project, billboards with prevention messaging, and placement of signs with detail on alcohol laws.

 Implications

Mobile technology can be used to collect community data for prevention efforts. Results have implications for policy change efforts in the state. Potential efforts based on these results include working with merchants to change product placement practices or displaying the newly changed age for tobacco or building capacity around local ordinances. Findings also show how some types of substance misuse is more evident in our communities, which might steer prevention strategies accordingly.