Community Wise: A formative evaluation of a community based health intervention

Individuals with histories of incarceration and substance abuse residing in distressed communities often receive suboptimal services partly due to a lack of empirically supported substance abuse treatments targeting this population. Grounded in community-engaged research, we developed Community Wise, a manualized, 12-week, group behavioral intervention. The intervention aims to reduce substance use frequency, HIV/HCV risk behaviors, and reoffending among individuals with histories of substance abuse and incarceration. Thirty six individuals were recruited to participate in a formative evaluation of Community Wise processes and outcomes. Analysis showed significantly lower post-intervention number of cigarettes smoked per day, days using an illicit drug, money spent on illegal drugs, and rearrests. Based on the evaluation, the research team made the following changes: 1) added a session on sexuality; 2) increased the number of sessions from 12 to 15; and 3) modified strategies to help participants develop and implement capacity building projects.