The Prevention Resource Repository at Wake Forest University School of Medicine supplies resources to communities, researchers, students, and others to effectively plan and implement state-of-the-art prevention practices.
We support communities in their transition to results-oriented substance use prevention practice by:
- Providing actionable substance use and risk and protective factor data to communities via the North Carolina Youth and Young Adult Substance Use Prevention Survey (NCYYAPS)
- Coordinating the North Carolina Statewide Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup (NC SEOW) to enhance and expand the substance use related data infrastructure and provide real tools for communities to use in their planning
- Developing best practice guidelines to assist communities in implementing evidence-based substance use prevention strategies
We welcome ongoing feedback to ensure the North Carolina Substance Use Data Resource List remains accurate, useful, and responsive to community needs.
If you have questions, suggestions, notice missing information, or would like to recommend an additional data resource, please contact us at PreventionResourceRepositorAHWFB@Advocatehealth.org.
Your input helps us improve the tool and better support statewide prevention, planning, and public health efforts.
The North Carolina Youth and Young Adult Substance Use Prevention Survey collects statewide data on substance use behaviors and risk and protective factors to support data‑driven prevention efforts. The survey provides detailed insights into substance use patterns, access, and related risk and protective factors across 25 regions in North Carolina.
Report
Presentations
- NPN 2025 Lessons Learned in Designing a Data Dashboard to Support the Community Needs
- NPN 2023 Emerging Substance Misuse Issues in Youth and Young Adults
- NC Prevention Conference Presentations - NC Substance Use Landscape
- FROST Presentation - for the Forsyth County Opioid Prevention Coalition
Publications
The purpose of a Statewide Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup (SEOW) is to build and expand the infrastructure for using data in substance use prevention decision-making. The North Carolina SEOW is a collaborative of agencies and organizations with responsibility for understanding the epidemiology of substance use, guiding the delivery of substance use prevention efforts, and other closely aligned services. The NC SEOW has two workgroups, one focused on the dissemination of existing substance use data resources and enhancing data literacy, and another focused on making data-driven prevention priority recommendations. The SEOW is working to develop dissemination resources related to substance use data.
North Carolina Substance Use Data Resource List
The North Carolina Substance Use Data Resource List is a centralized, statewide one-stop shop for locating credible, easy-to-access data related to substance use and public health in North Carolina. It is designed to support state agencies, community coalitions, researchers, and other partners in finding the data they need for grant writing, needs assessments, program planning, evaluation, trend monitoring, and more.
This tool brings together a range of data resources used across North Carolina and organizes them into clear categories, so users can quickly identify what type of data they need, where to find it, and how to access it. The goal is to make data more usable, more transparent, and more available to communities statewide, strengthening capacity for data-driven planning and decision-making.
This resource is intended to:
- Give partners a one-stop shop for statewide substance use and behavioral health data
- Increase access to credible, regularly updated data
- Support funding applications, evaluation efforts, community planning, and policy development
- Reduce duplication of effort by bringing multiple data sources into a single, organized tool
- Strengthen local decision-making by helping communities find data that is relevant to their population or geographic area
This tool was built through statewide partnerships and is routinely updated to make substance use data more accessible, more transparent, and more actionable for communities across North Carolina.
Each data source entry includes:
- Type of data and topic
- Data source and governance
- Description of the data resource
- Data collection frequency
- Data levels (state, national, etc)
- Access Links
The Data Resource List is organized by the following categories:
• Community and Population Data – Large-scale datasets capturing demographic, economic, or housing characteristics (e.g., U.S. Census Bureau/American Community Survey).
• Administrative and Programmatic Data – Data collected during service delivery, program participation, or system operations, including implementation data, enrollment counts, service utilization, revenue, or compliance monitoring.
• Behavioral Health Attitudes and Behaviors – Self-reported survey data that captures behaviors, experiences, perceptions, and risk factors (e.g., Youth Risk Behavior Survey, National Survey on Drug Use and Health).
• Behavioral Health Outcome Data – Data measuring the consequences of substance use, including overdoses, alcohol-related crashes, school infractions, emergency department utilization, or mortality.
• Integrated Data Systems & Repositories – Systems that combine multiple routine data streams (demographic, administrative, programmatic, behavioral, or outcome data) to create a more comprehensive view of population needs and trends.
The Information Guide Series provide communities, coalitions, prevention providers, and other entities involved in substance use prevention resources to effectively implement best practices in prevention.
Communication campaigns
Communication campaigns utilize purposeful promotional strategies to change norms, behaviors, and policies via marketing and advertising techniques. Communication campaigns can counteract the negative impact of substance advertising (e.g., tobacco and alcohol). Communication campaigns can also influence the way that stakeholders, including the media, think about issues, and shift the focus from an individual behavior to a systems or environmental focus. Policies can be distinguished as either formal or informal policy, depending on the environmental strategies used and the agency that implements the policy.
For more information on using communication campaigns in substance use prevention see the information guide series on Effective Substance Use Prevention Communication Campaigns.
View Communication Campaign Guidelines
Policy
Policy can play an important role in alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention efforts. Coupled with stronger enforcement, policies can shift the focus on solving substance use related problems from the individual to the community settings in which a substance is obtained and used. The focus becomes regulating the sale, use, consumption, promotion, or consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Strengthened local substance related policies and enforcement efforts have the capacity to change attitudes, behaviors, community norms, and consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. For more information on using policy for substance use prevention see the information guide series on implementing and supporting policies to prevention alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use.
Courses on Policy:
- View Courses
- Select "Our Courses"
- Search for "Policy"
Two courses available:
- Introduction to the Power of Policy Change
- 10 Steps to Policy Change
Youth Engagement
Youth Engagement refers to prevention organizations effectively engaging youth as leaders or partners in planning, tailoring, implementing, or evaluating prevention programming. The goal of YE is to improve the quality, reach, and effectiveness of prevention efforts meant for youth.
Youth engagement is not itself a “strategy” for prevention; rather, it is an approach that can be used alongside numerous prevention strategies.
For information, tips, and tools about deciding whether, and how, to incorporate youth engagement into your prevention programming see the Information Guide Series on Engaging Youth to Improve Substance use Prevention.
View Youth Engagement Guidelines
Prevention Workforce Training and Tools
The Prevention Technology Transfer Center Network provides training, technical assistance, and tools to improve the quality and delivery of substance use prevention effort. For information on these offerings see the PTTC Network education and resource pages.