Identifying prevention approaches for emerging behavioral health problems, such as problem gambling where the field is young can be challenging, and we don’t yet have a lot of evidence-based or evidence-informed strategies with proven outcomes to utilize. What we do have is a history of prevention in other behavioral health fields in knowing what works that we can draw from, and we can draw on that experience to develop strategies and interventions to address problem gambling prevention. One way to explore this is through the Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory, which explains how and why people adopt new behaviors. This advanced training reviews the DOI theory, Motivational Interviewing, and the stages of change, including how various groups adopt new behaviors and how participants can use the DOI theory and apply it to their behavioral health field of study or develop an intervention to reach key populations and change beliefs and attitudes.

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Problem gambling is a preventable public health issue, and community-led approaches are an effective way to address shared community concerns. The field of problem gambling has been historically disconnected from community initiatives grounded in equity and social justice. Hence, partnerships and collaborations are essential to the acquisition of resources needed to realize shared goals. Effective community-led initiatives collaborate with, recognize, and build on the strengths, resiliency, and existing leadership in disproportionately impacted communities. Community-led development is an approach in which local community members work together to identify goals that are important to them, develop and implement plans to achieve those goals, and create collaborative relationships internally and with external actors—all while building on community strengths and local leadership. This training will define components of a community-led approach and explore ways to engage those most impacted by problem gambling to develop partnerships and an action plan to achieve common goals with community partners.

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