Prevention Leaders Network
The Prevention Leaders Podcast cover art

The Prevention Leaders Podcast

Understanding the Core Principles of Prevention

10 min

Guest: Dave Closson

Listen on Spotify

Summary

Dave Closson breaks down the core principles of substance misuse prevention, explaining the importance of proactive strategies and a layered approach to creating healthier communities. He discusses the three levels of prevention: primary, secondary, and tertiary, and introduces key prevention models like the Public Health Model, the Social-Ecological Model, and the Strategic Prevention Framework.

Key takeaways

  • Understand the three levels of prevention: primary, secondary, and tertiary.
  • Recognize the importance of a comprehensive and layered approach to prevention.
  • Familiarize yourself with key prevention models, including the Public Health Model, the Social-Ecological Model, and the Strategic Prevention Framework.
  • Identify practical steps to implement prevention strategies in your community.
  • Proactively address substance misuse by using established frameworks for success.
Show notes

In this episode of the Prevention Leaders Podcast, Dave Closson breaks down the core principles of substance misuse prevention, explaining the importance of proactive strategies and a layered approach to creating healthier communities. Dave discusses the three levels of prevention (primary, secondary, and tertiary) and how they work together to form a comprehensive safety net. He also introduces key prevention models such as the Public Health Model, the Social-Ecological Model, and the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF).

Key Topics Covered:

  • The three levels of prevention: primary, secondary, and tertiary

  • Why a comprehensive approach matters

  • Prevention models and frameworks for success

  • Practical steps for taking action in your community

Resources Mentioned:

  • The Public Health Model

  • The Social-Ecological Model

  • The Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF)

Share your prevention strategies and success stories on social media using #PreventionLeaders.


Links:

Dave Closson's Links

Share this episodeLinkedInFacebookEmail

More episodes from The Prevention Leaders Podcast

October 7, 202658 min

How SAFE Project Is Strengthening What Protects Us

This episode features Ronna Yablonski and Adam Swift from SAFE Project, who discuss the organization's comprehensive approach to substance misuse prevention. They emphasize that prevention is an ongoing, daily effort that involves individuals, families, and communities. The conversation highlights how SAFE Project strengthens protective factors before, during, and after a crisis, particularly for veterans.

Listen

August 12, 202647 min

Culture Is Prevention: Protective Factors, Belonging, and Strength-Based Prevention with Barbara Bessette

This episode of The Prevention Leaders Podcast features Dave Closson and Barbara Bessette, an enrolled member of the Chippewa-Cree Tribe Rocky Boy. They explore how reconnecting with culture, identity, belonging, and community can be a powerful substance misuse prevention strategy. Bessette shares her insights on approaching prevention through an Indigenous lens, emphasizing protective factors and moving beyond deficit-based narratives.

Listen

July 2, 20261 hr 3 min

Fall, Feel, Rise: Hope Tour, Fourth Wave Foundation, and the Practice of Resilience

This episode, a collaboration with the Unnecessary Harm podcast, explores resilience with the architects of World Resiliency Week 2026, Adam Woods and Sneha Patiyathal. They discuss the critical practice of resilience in diverse cultural contexts, focusing on community-rooted and relationship-centered prevention work for young people. The conversation highlights on-the-ground efforts in schools and communities across Australia and India.

Listen

June 24, 202651 min

The Pulse of Resilience: Why Falling, Feeling, and Rising Matters

This special multicast episode, originally recorded with the Dalgarno Institute for their podcast Unnecessary Harm, explores the 2026 World Resiliency Week campaign theme, "The Pulse of Resilience: Fall, Feel, Rise." Guests Dave Closson and Jen Schneeman discuss resilience as a rhythm rather than a destination, drawing on diverse fields such as trauma recovery and prevention science. They offer a hopeful conversation about navigating adversity and building stronger individuals and communities.

Listen

Your people are waiting.

Join a private community built only for prevention professionals. Look around, meet your people, and choose your membership when you're ready.