[Evidence Register Green List Prevention: Analysis of the listed effectiveness-tested programmes]. / Evidenzregister Grüne Liste Prävention ­ Analyse der gelisteten wirksamkeitsgeprüften Programme.

BACKGROUND: In the areas of prevention and health promotion, there is a large number of measures for children and adolescents. One way of facilitating evidence-based action for those involved in these taks is by making available online evidence registers with customised, effectiveness-tested measures. The Green List Prevention is such a register and offers an overview of evidence-based programmes in Germany, currently with a focus on psychosocial health. OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were (a) to analyse the characteristics of the available and evaluated programmes on the psychosocial health of children and adolescents, (b) to identify priorities and underrepresented areas of the Green List Prevention and (c) to optimise the search functions of the register. METHOD: The characteristic features were recorded on the basis of the existing upper categories of the register entries which were differentiated into subcategories in an inductive procedure by at least two persons. In addition, deductive categories were added for relevant aspects concerning content and implementation. The upper and lower categories formed were operationalized with characteristic values. All entries were analyzed by using a data sheet and were descriptively evaluated. RESULTS: The 102 programmes listed (as of 2/2024) addressed not only the primary target group of children and youth, but also secondary target groups (mainly teachers and guardians). Social and life skills programmes as well as trainings for guardians represented a focus. Behavioral prevention programmes on the topics of violence (including bullying) (63.7%), addiction (46.1%) and/or mental health (35.3%) were frequently represented, whereas nutrition and/or physical activity (4.9%) were hardly represented. Most of the programmes (88.2%) could be assigned to the eligibility criteria of the statutory health insurers (§20a SGB V). Potentials digital implementation forms and further implementation aspects were identified. CONCLUSION: The Green List Prevention bundles a large number of different measures and that there is potential for expansion. Processing knowledge about effective measures in a user-friendly manner can be optimised through expanded search functions, so that resource-conserving, evidence-based action can be facilitated.

[Evidence-based prevention for child and adolescent mental health: the "Communities That Care" (CTC) approach for Germany]. / Evidenzbasierte Prävention für die psychische Gesundheit von Kindern und Jugendlichen: Der Ansatz "Communities That Care" (CTC) für Deutschland.

Intersectoral collaboration, evidence base, and sustainable implementation are central challenges in community health promotion. The international prevention system Communities That Care (CTC) addresses these challenges. CTC aims to prevent alcohol and drug abuse, violence, delinquency, school dropout, and depressive symptoms among adolescents with a systemic multi-level strategy. The evidence-based and cost-effective prevention system developed in the USA was adapted to Germany; at present, a replication study evaluates the cost-effectiveness.CTC is based on empirical theory and follows a five-phase process model. Essential for acceptance and evidence-based implementation is the formation of an intersectoral coalition, whose members receive advisory support and training over several years. The actors are empowered to use a system change model at the municipal level and to implement it in the long term. The aim is to select evidence-based measures in a data-driven and needs-oriented manner and to implement them in consideration of the local contextual conditions in order to reduce risk factors, promote protective factors, and thus improve the health of adolescents. Validated instruments such as the CTC Children and Youth Survey and a registry with evidence-based prevention programs ("Grüne Liste Prävention") support the process.As a systemic intervention, CTC integrates existing local structures and agencies and involves them in the entire process through new decision-making and development bodies. In this way, the potential in the municipality is used and, as much as possible, resources are bundled, strengths are developed, and transparency is created.

Study protocol: a non-randomised community trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the communities that care prevention system in Germany.

BACKGROUND: The Communities That Care (CTC) prevention planning and implementation system trains communities throughout a five-phase cycle to (1) build capacity for prevention, (2) adopt science-based prevention, (3) assess the prevention needs of adolescents living in the community, (4) select, and (5) implement evidence-based programs according to their needs. After CTC proved to be effective and cost-effective in the U.S., it is being used by an increasing number of communities in Germany. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of CTC in Germany. METHODS: Communities in CTC-phases 1 to 3 (n = 21) and individually-matched comparison communities (n = 21) were recruited for a non-randomised trial. To assess long-term outcomes, (1) a cohort of 5th Grade students will be surveyed biennially concerning behaviours (antisocial behaviour and substance use) and well-being as well as risk and protective factors. Additionally, (2) biennial cross-sectional surveys will be conducted in 6th, 8th, 10th, and 11th Grade in each community. To assess short-term outcomes, a cohort of ten key informants per community will be surveyed biennially concerning adoption of science-based prevention, collaboration, community support and community norms. (4) In a cross-sectional design, all ongoing prevention programs and activities in the communities will be assessed biennially and data will be collected about costs, implementation and other characteristics of the programs and activities. (5) To monitor the CTC implementation, the members of the local CTC-boards will be surveyed annually (cross-sectional design) about team functioning and coalition capacity. Data analysis will include general and generalised mixed models to assess the average treatment effect of CTC. Mediation analyses will be performed to test the logical model, e.g., adoption of science-based prevention as a mediator for the effectiveness of the CTC approach. DISCUSSION: This is the first controlled study to evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive community prevention approach in Germany. Evaluating the effectiveness of CTC in Germany is an important prerequisite for further diffusion of the CTC approach. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered with German Clinical Trial Register: DRKS00022819 on Aug 18, 2021.