Community involvement in prevention programs: The use of a telephone survey for program development

Prevention programs that require active involvement of community residents must stimulate awareness, interest, and participation in their activities. Disappointing participation in one such project, the Community Helpers Project, resulted in a telephone survey being conducted in order to distinguish lack of awareness from disinterest on the part of community residents. Two hundred residents in the project field sites were surveyed. The results showed that most residents were unaware of the project but that, upon learning about it, most expressed strong interest. These findings support the need for more systematic efforts to be made in the marketing of prevention programs.