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National Overdose Awareness Month Spotlight: CSU Prevention Research Center · Healthier Together: Larimer County's Public Health Podcast

0:02
Welcome to Healthier Together, Larimer County's
0:05
public health podcast, where we come together
0:06
for healthier lives, connected communities and
0:09
real conversations. From your local public health
0:11
team, I'm your host, Tom. And I'm Joanna. August
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is National Overdose Awareness Month, a time
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to remember those lost to overdose, provide space
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for grief, connection and healing, and highlight
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the work happening in our communities to prevent
0:25
overdose and support recovery. Throughout the
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month, we're featuring organizations across our
0:30
community that work to prevent overdose, support
0:33
recovery, reduce stigma, and connect people with
0:36
care. Today, we're learning more about the CSU
0:39
Prevention Research Center with their Executive
0:41
Director, Nate Riggs. Nate, thank you so much
0:44
for joining us. Yeah, thank you for having me.
0:46
To start, can you just tell us a bit about what
0:49
the CSU Prevention Research Center is and the
0:51
work that you do? Yeah. So the CSU Prevention
0:54
Research Center is a research center that spans
0:57
the College of Health and Human Sciences. And
1:00
what we really try to do is we try to prevent
1:03
negative health behaviors from happening before
1:06
they even occur. So we do that by trying to promote
1:10
the good. And so a lot of our work involves working
1:13
with community partners around the state of Colorado.
1:15
We work a lot with county public health departments.
1:18
We work with school districts and other. agencies
1:22
that are interested in promoting health and well
1:24
-being across the lifespan. How did the CSU Prevention
1:28
Research Center come about? The CSU Prevention
1:32
Research Center started in 2014 with some support
1:35
from the College of Health and Human Sciences,
1:37
as well as the Department of Human Development
1:39
and Family Studies. And I started as the executive
1:43
director in 2019. It's a cross -college initiative
1:46
to engage our community partners throughout the
1:49
state of Colorado to promote health and well
1:52
-being. What sorts of things do you research
1:55
at the center? So we research how we can implement
1:59
approaches to promoting positive youth development
2:02
so that young people don't initiate substance
2:06
use violence or other risky behaviors. Can you
2:09
expand on the work that the research center does
2:13
around substance use? Yeah, so in addition to
2:16
testing new innovative approaches to preventing
2:19
substance misuse, at the CSU Prevention Research
2:22
Center, we are a part of a land -grant university.
2:25
And as a part of a land -grant university, we
2:27
have a mission to directly reach out and engage
2:30
with our community partners to work alongside
2:32
those community partners in identifying evidence
2:36
-based programs that are going to work the best
2:39
in their own community's unique context and culture.
2:43
So we'll work with community partners on identifying
2:45
what programs will work best for them. We work
2:48
with them on how to implement those programs
2:50
effectively so that those programs will actually
2:52
work when they're implemented in the real world.
2:55
We also work with those communities in evaluation
2:58
of those evidence -based approaches and thinking
3:00
about really how did we sustain these approaches
3:02
to substance misuse over the long term. So regarding
3:08
your work with youth and through school partnerships
3:11
to prevent substance use disorder among middle
3:14
schoolers and high schooler students. What does
3:16
that participation look like? I'm trying to imagine
3:19
what that partnership actually looks like when
3:21
you guys walk into the schools. Yeah, when we
3:24
walk into schools, we recognize that not everybody
3:26
has been formally trained in the field of prevention
3:29
science. So prevention is a relatively young
3:33
scientific field. And as a result, there aren't
3:36
a ton of practitioners who have been formally
3:39
trained in how to prevent. substance misuse.
3:42
We first get a sense of what schools are doing
3:46
well already and identifying where there might
3:49
be some gaps in the approach to preventing substance
3:53
misuse. And then we'll sit down and we'll work
3:56
with those schools and those school districts
3:57
on identifying which approaches are going to
4:00
work best in their schools. We'll connect with
4:03
program developers, so developers of these substance
4:06
misuse prevention programs. And we'll connect
4:08
those program developers with schools and school
4:11
districts and identify how we can implement these
4:15
programs so that they'll have maximal impact.
4:17
Then once we start implementing those programs
4:20
in those schools, we are a source of technical
4:24
assistance and technical support when questions
4:27
invariably arise when it comes to implementing
4:29
these programs so that we can help support that
4:31
implementation to ensure that these programs
4:34
that have been tested efficacious in the lab
4:39
are actually being effective when implemented
4:42
in the real world. We also have online prevention
4:46
training modules that can actually be really
4:50
fun. We can walk practitioners on through courses
4:53
related to things like program evaluation, implementation
4:57
fidelity, so how to implement programs. the right
5:01
way so that they'll be more likely to have their
5:03
intended impact. And then we also have things
5:07
like guidebooks and all sorts of research practice
5:11
tools that practitioners can take advantage of.
5:14
We also will travel throughout the state and
5:17
provide trainings in person to networks of practitioners.
5:22
So we've given trainings in Otero County for
5:28
networks of prevention practitioners who are
5:31
implementing programs through the opioid settlement
5:34
funds, or we've gone to El Paso County and provided
5:38
a training to a network of educators who are
5:42
implementing prevention programs. So, you know,
5:45
we can also do those things and roll up our sleeves
5:47
a little bit more and dig a little bit deeper
5:49
and a little bit more of a personal... with folks
5:53
in that training. I think that there are opportunities
5:56
in Colorado and around the country to create
6:02
more robust prevention infrastructure to support
6:07
prevention practitioners. And as part of that
6:11
infrastructure, more training programs for prevention
6:16
practice. And I think that Colorado State University
6:19
is a... a perfect place for those types of programs
6:24
because of its land -grant university, because
6:26
we are, part of our mission is to train that
6:30
next generation of the workforce that is going
6:33
out into the community and actually doing the
6:36
good work of prevention. How does the approach
6:39
that you bring to this partnership kind of differ
6:42
with age groups? Because that's quite a wide
6:44
gambit, and I'm sure that, you know, myself as
6:47
a former cynical teenager. Might be less receptive
6:50
to some messaging than somebody who's much younger
6:53
and more optimistic. Yeah, right. You know, so
6:56
we at the Prevention Research Center, we work
6:58
really far upstream. So we're trying to prevent
7:01
this substance use before young people even start
7:05
that first drink or that first onset of nicotine
7:10
use, right? And so we... work as far upstream
7:14
as elementary school. Oh, wow. But we're not
7:17
talking about drugs with kindergartners, right?
7:20
What we're doing with kindergartners through
7:22
sixth graders really is what we're trying to
7:24
do is to promote positive youth development skills,
7:27
those skills that are going to protect those
7:29
young people from the onset of substance use.
7:31
So things like self -regulation, good communication
7:34
skills, healthy relationships, all of these things
7:37
that we know are going to protect kids from starting
7:41
to use substances and then progressing to a substance
7:44
use disorder. So that's what it looks like in
7:47
elementary school. Then in middle school, we
7:51
definitely do that still, but we also layer on
7:55
some substance use education, some resistance
7:58
skills, some things that are directly related
8:02
to not using substances. Have you guys had a
8:06
pretty good success record? Yeah. Yeah, we find
8:09
that... The success of these programs really
8:11
is enhanced when you have a source of training
8:14
and technical assistance like the CSU Prevention
8:16
Research Center, because these programs oftentimes
8:18
have been tested in communities or in schools
8:22
that aren't identical to the schools that we're
8:25
working with. And so when we can work with those
8:28
schools, when we can work with those community
8:30
partners and answer any kind of questions that
8:34
they may have as they're implementing these programs.
8:36
We are finding that when we evaluate the impact
8:39
of these programs, we're seeing some really nice,
8:41
not only what we call statistically significant
8:44
effects, which is really just kind of a scientific
8:46
term, doesn't really mean anything to schools
8:48
and communities, but have real, real actually
8:51
community effects. I'm interested in some of
8:54
the numbers, you know, hey, every dollar spent
8:55
on prevention leads to X number of whatever.
8:58
Yeah. The Washington State Institute of Public
9:01
Policy has done cost benefit analyses on these
9:04
evidence -based programs. And they range from
9:08
maybe $1 .25 for every dollar spent to thousands
9:12
of dollars for every dollar spent. And so it
9:15
just kind of depends on the approach. And communities
9:17
can go to that registry and use that as one point
9:22
of data when it comes to making a choice on the
9:25
programs that they want to implement. For example,
9:30
there's a very well -known... substance misuse
9:33
prevention program that's implemented in middle
9:36
schools. It's called the Botvin Life Skills Training
9:38
Program. For every dollar that is spent on that
9:42
program, there's a return of about $14. And again,
9:45
it's definitely not in that don't just say no
9:48
kind of messaging that we know doesn't work.
9:53
And in fact, not only do we know that it doesn't
9:56
work, we also know that that can actually cause
9:59
harm. Those kind of messages. They can have what
10:02
we call, and it's another fancy scientific name,
10:04
what we call iatrogenic effects or negative effects.
10:07
We can actually increase the likelihood that
10:10
a young person will use substances if we do prevention
10:13
the wrong way. So what does prevention the wrong
10:16
way look like then? Like if somebody was like,
10:18
oh, I'm going to try this, and it was like the
10:20
absolute worst thing that you could possibly
10:22
do, what does that look like? Sometimes we can
10:25
make substances seem kind of... fun and risky
10:29
if we approach it the wrong way. And so it's
10:32
really promoting the good and the skill development
10:34
and arming young people with the skills to be
10:38
able to make healthy decisions. So you mentioned
10:40
that, you know, this is a relatively new version
10:43
of a science that you guys are participating
10:45
in and researching. What have we learned about
10:48
the developing brain for young people that helps
10:52
us prevent substance use? Yeah, I love that question.
10:56
That's actually one of my areas. research interests,
10:59
is looking at how the brain develops and how
11:02
that creates periods of relative vulnerability
11:05
to using substances. So there are a couple of
11:09
really important parts of the brain when it comes
11:11
to substance use and non -use. One of them is
11:15
what we can refer to as the brain's accelerator,
11:19
the gas pedal of the brain. It's the reward center
11:22
of the brain. It's these very primitive areas
11:24
of the brain when what we... generally called
11:27
the limbic system. And these parts of the brain
11:31
are very sensitive to rewards. Young people have
11:36
a very well -developed gas pedal. The thing is,
11:39
is that there's also a part of the brain that
11:41
is generally the brake pedal, the prefrontal
11:43
cortex of the brain, okay? The prefrontal cortex
11:46
of the brain is the part of the brain that makes
11:47
us the most human. We're able to think of consequences.
11:51
We're able to plan. We're able to regulate our
11:54
emotions and our... our impulses. And obviously
11:58
very important part of the brain, that part of
11:59
the brain isn't fully developed until young people
12:03
are around the age of 25. So between the age
12:07
of about 11 and the age of 25, young people have
12:11
a very well -developed gas pedal, but not a fully
12:15
functional brake pedal. Okay. And that window
12:19
of time opens young people up to vulnerability
12:23
to using substances, to taking risks, including
12:26
substances. When does the brain fully stop developing
12:31
or does it not really can stop development? Well,
12:34
we have the potential to form new thoughts and
12:38
think in different ways throughout our lifespan,
12:40
right? But we have periods of relative malleability,
12:45
relative flexibility in how able the brain is
12:49
to really modify or change in major ways. And
12:55
that in the prefrontal cortex of the brain ends
12:58
at around the age of 25. So that window between
13:01
the ages of 11 or 12 and 25, it is a period of
13:06
relative vulnerability, but it's also a window
13:08
where we can implement our preventive interventions
13:11
to really work with kids and help be able to
13:15
form the connections that we want them to connect
13:17
in the brain, right? And make the right decisions
13:18
when it comes to substances. So I'm also curious
13:21
about where these preventative measures might
13:23
show up in other parts of their life. You know,
13:26
is that also through parenting or, you know,
13:29
I'm assuming most of it probably is school programs
13:32
from what you've mentioned, but I'm kind of curious
13:34
if there are other venues for that. Absolutely.
13:37
Yes. So I've been talking about school -based
13:40
programs for the most part so far. Preventive
13:42
interventions can be implemented in many important
13:45
contexts. There are evidence -based preventive
13:47
interventions that can be implemented in the
13:50
family context. Many of those programs focus
13:53
on promoting healthy rulemaking, healthy communication,
13:57
and really just good parenting skills that can
14:02
be applied to preventing young people from using
14:05
substances. Have you encountered any instances
14:08
where you bring, you know, hey, this is what
14:10
we would recommend for your community. And then
14:11
you've gotten some resistance from the community
14:13
saying, ah, we're not touching that. Yeah. Yes.
14:16
I love that question. So yes, you know, we have
14:19
been talking or I have been talking a lot about
14:21
evidence -based programs and in ideal situations,
14:24
evidence -based programs are what we recommend.
14:28
The ideal is of course the ideal and is oftentimes
14:31
not the case. And so what we communicate to our
14:35
community partners is that we're not the evidence
14:37
-based police. We're not only going to work with
14:40
you if you want to or are going to implement
14:43
an evidence -based program. What we can also
14:46
do is if we say, hey, these are the evidence
14:49
-based models, and you say none of these are
14:53
going to work, then we will go to the drawing
14:56
board with you, and we will try to help co -create
14:59
something with you that is at least research
15:03
-informed, that is based on science, in this
15:06
case substance misuse. But we aren't going to
15:10
force you to implement an evidence -based program
15:13
if it's not going to work in your community.
15:15
That's not going to be good for anybody. So,
15:17
yeah. Yeah, it sounds like you're really tailoring
15:19
a lot of these approaches to the communities
15:21
so that they are effective. I am curious, how
15:24
does Larimer County kind of stand out? Is there
15:27
anything that makes Larimer County a little bit
15:28
different from some of the other organizations
15:30
or counties that you've worked with? I think
15:33
every... community, every county is different.
15:36
A lot of the support that we've had from county
15:39
public health, as well as the district leadership
15:42
when it comes to prevention, there's been a lot
15:44
of buy -in that if we do prevention the right
15:47
way, we can promote health, we can promote development,
15:51
we can keep kids from using substances, and in
15:53
turn save lives moving, you know, down the field.
15:56
And so, you know, we've had a lot of great conversations
16:00
with Thompson School District, Poudre School
16:03
District, and Estes Park School District. And
16:05
we've done a really good job working with those
16:08
school districts in layering different approaches
16:12
to prevention on top of each other so that we
16:14
can have a really comprehensive impact on the
16:18
lives of young people attending those schools.
16:20
It's been one of my favorite projects that I've
16:23
ever been a part of in my entire career. Oh,
16:26
wow. We talked briefly about what we've learned
16:28
about DARE and that approach. Can you speak more
16:32
broadly about how research has influenced the
16:35
ways that we approach prevention for substance
16:37
use? One of the things that's been really interesting
16:41
about the field of prevention is that it's almost
16:44
a misnomer. It really has its roots in kind of
16:48
the CDC model of preventing negative things from
16:52
happening and preventing all these bad things
16:54
from happening in life. Really what it's more
16:56
about, what we've found, is that It can be more
16:59
effective to really focus on the good, really
17:02
focus on promoting the good, promoting the skills,
17:05
promoting things like that. We've been talking
17:08
about social and emotional learning skills, resistance
17:10
skills, healthy communication, peer relationships.
17:14
By promoting the good, you can have a greater
17:17
impact on preventing the bad later on down the
17:21
line. The things that we've found that haven't
17:23
worked in the past are the things that are the
17:26
just say no to drugs. The focus on the outcome
17:30
is less effective than focusing on what we call
17:34
these risk and protective factors. What does
17:36
a typical day in the life of someone conducting
17:39
this type of research look like? What does their
17:41
sort of nine to five look like? One of the things
17:44
I love about my job is there's not a typical
17:46
nine to five. I mean, some days, some days I'm
17:49
sitting in front of my computer all day long.
17:51
I'm writing research grant proposals or I'm writing
17:54
a peer reviewed journal article that's contributing
17:56
to the science or I'm. I'm analyzing data. I
18:00
enjoy that part. It's also at the same time,
18:03
probably my least favorite part of my day. The
18:06
most fun part of my day is working with my team
18:08
in our conference room. And we call these whiteboard
18:11
sessions where we just sit in front of the whiteboard
18:13
and we talk about how are we going to engage
18:16
with our communities and support them in implementing
18:18
these programs that we know are going to have
18:21
a positive effect on their lives. That's a really
18:24
fun aspect of my week. Other times I really enjoy
18:28
driving down to the San Luis Valley and meeting
18:32
with community partners and learning about communities
18:35
and what makes them tick and what can work best
18:39
in those communities. So it's a combination of
18:42
what you would think about as maybe a kind of
18:45
the dry scientific life, but also this really
18:48
great opportunity to really... engage with communities.
18:53
And that's one of the reasons why I really enjoy
18:56
working at Colorado State University is that
18:59
we have this land grant mission where engaging
19:03
with community partners and translating science
19:07
to better communities is valued as much as the
19:11
next publication or the next grant proposal or,
19:14
you know, those types of things. And then I also
19:16
get to teach and I'm... Teaching our graduate
19:19
seminar in prevention science across the lifespan
19:22
starts in two weeks. And I'm just super excited
19:24
to do that as well for our graduate students.
19:27
I'm curious then who kind of makes up the CSU
19:31
Prevention Research Center. Does teaching end
19:33
up becoming a pipeline to staff the research
19:36
center? What does that look like? It's funny
19:39
that you mentioned that. Yeah. So one of the
19:41
things that I wanted to do when I became the
19:43
director at the Prevention Research Center was
19:46
to form. divisions. And so we have three divisions
19:51
at the Prevention Research Center. One is the
19:52
Healthy Schools Division. And a lot of the work
19:54
that I've been talking about so far falls under
19:58
that division. We also have a Healthy Aging Division,
20:01
where we work with individuals on the other end
20:04
of the lifespan to promote optimal aging. We
20:06
have a division called the Intellectual and Developmental
20:09
Disabilities Division. So we work with children
20:11
and their families who have an intellectual or
20:13
developmental disability. And then we have a
20:15
community university partnerships division, which
20:18
really is the foundation of everything that we
20:21
do, engaging our community partners. And so we
20:23
have faculty who direct each of those divisions.
20:26
And then we have staff. We have an amazing staff.
20:30
I can't speak highly enough about our staff.
20:34
We have implementation specialists who are oftentimes
20:38
project managers. really are the ones who are
20:41
interfacing with our community partners the most.
20:44
And whenever I meet with Larimer County's Opioid
20:48
Abatement Council, they're always talking about
20:51
how great our staff are. We have some evaluation
20:55
specialists as well who are really just great
20:58
empirical evaluators. And the interesting thing
21:02
about those folks is that almost all of them
21:05
come from our Prevention Science Master's program.
21:09
I have the great fortune to teach these students
21:11
who then become graduate research assistants
21:15
at the Prevention Research Center, and then nobody
21:18
wants to leave, and I don't want them to leave,
21:21
so I get to hire them, and then they do great
21:23
work in the community. And so that's great. And
21:26
then we also have students who work at the Prevention
21:31
Research Center and gain hands -on prevention
21:34
science and prevention practice experience. that
21:37
they can then take into their communities once
21:39
they graduate or they can take into their first
21:43
academic positions if they go into academia.
21:45
What brought you to this work? Well, I always
21:49
knew that I wanted my career to make an impact.
21:54
I always wanted to be in a profession where I
21:57
would be able to promote health and well -being.
22:02
I was a psychology major at the University of
22:05
Washington, and I thought that if I was going
22:08
to be a psychology major and I wanted to have
22:11
an impact, I had to be a clinical psychologist.
22:14
And I would have been terrible at being a clinical
22:17
psychologist. I just know that I would have.
22:19
And luckily, I had an advisor who became a lifelong
22:24
mentor, one of the first -generation prevention
22:27
scientists at the University of Washington. His
22:29
name was Mark Greenberg. And he said, you know,
22:32
Nate, I know you're applying to all these clinical
22:34
psychology programs. And I am going to be moving
22:38
to Penn State University next year. And I'm going
22:40
to start something called a prevention research
22:42
center where we're going to be able to start
22:44
researching how to prevent these things from
22:46
happening in the first place. And I thought,
22:48
wow, that's a novel idea. Yeah, that sounds like
22:53
a great idea. And I thought, well, Pennsylvania,
22:55
huh? Central Pennsylvania. Seattle to central
22:58
Pennsylvania. Luckily, it was the best decision
23:02
I ever made. I consider myself kind of a community
23:05
guy. I get to have a job where I get to interface,
23:08
I get to interact, I get to engage with community
23:12
members almost on a daily basis, in addition
23:16
to the science. And so, yeah, I think that's
23:19
kind of a 30 ,000 -foot view of... kind of what
23:23
drew me into this field. I enjoy it so much.
23:26
Are there any current research projects that
23:29
the research center is doing that you're particularly
23:32
excited about? Yeah. So, you know, I've been
23:35
talking a little bit about the opioid settlement
23:38
funds and you're, I don't know how familiar your
23:40
audience is with the opioid settlement funds,
23:42
but we have been working with four of Colorado's
23:46
19 opioid settlement regions. And this all started
23:52
in Larimer County. And it has just been, like
23:55
I said, one of my most favorite projects that
23:58
I have ever worked on in my entire career. We've
24:01
been working with Larimer County's Abatement
24:03
Council for the past four years. And we started
24:08
off, like I said, just really getting to know
24:10
the three school districts in Larimer County.
24:13
And first, the good stuff that they were doing.
24:16
And then... where there might have been some
24:18
gaps in their approach. And we collectively got
24:22
together and identified evidence -based prevention
24:25
programs that we felt would work in their communities
24:28
and implemented them, evaluated them. And we're
24:33
finding that we're really having a positive impact
24:36
on preventing depression, on preventing anxiety,
24:40
on preventing substance misuse, on promoting
24:43
coping skills and resilience. And it's just been
24:46
really great to work with the school districts
24:50
over these past four years and develop these
24:52
relationships where we can have this great communication
24:56
that really breeds great collaboration and success
25:01
in the projects that we're working on. And so
25:04
it's been great. These settlement dollars are
25:07
going to be around for another, I think, 13 years.
25:09
And hopefully we'll be able to continue this
25:11
partnership, hopefully after I retire. Yeah,
25:15
it's been fun. We just briefly in a previous
25:19
episode touched on the most recent Healthy Kids
25:22
Colorado data that came out and also showed improvements
25:26
in youth mental health. And so I was just curious.
25:29
I mean, it's a large ecosystem all working together.
25:33
But I guess if the CSU Prevention Research Center
25:37
uses that data at all or interacts with that
25:40
in any capacity. The Healthy Kids Colorado survey.
25:44
is a wonderful resource that we can use to identify
25:47
what are the community -specific needs, risk
25:51
factors, and protective factors that we can then
25:54
identify evidence -based prevention programs
25:57
that can address those specific needs. So that's
26:00
the first way that we use those data. It's challenging,
26:06
you're right, when you say that those data are
26:09
a part of a larger ecosystem. One of the great
26:13
things about universal prevention programs are
26:16
these are programs that can be implemented in
26:18
entire schools or entire school districts. Potentially,
26:23
those types of programs can have impacts on those
26:27
population level data. And so we haven't had
26:30
a chance to take a look at whether the work that
26:34
we're doing in Larimer County has had an impact
26:36
on the Healthy Kids Colorado survey data. But
26:39
it definitely is going to be something that we'll
26:41
be able to look at, especially if this partnership
26:44
is sustained over several years. We can look
26:49
at multiple waves of the Healthy Kids Colorado
26:51
survey and see if we're having an impact. So
26:55
we've interviewed a few organizations and they've
26:57
talked about stigma and how it shows up in substance
27:00
use and how that is one of the barriers that
27:03
they're always trying to overcome to help better
27:05
address, you know, just substance use in communities.
27:08
How does stigma show up in the research and the
27:10
prevention work that you've done? One of the
27:13
great things about prevention is that, especially
27:15
universal prevention, is that everybody gets
27:19
the same program. And so young people aren't
27:23
picked out of class, for example, to go to XYZ
27:27
program that invariably people in the school
27:31
ecosystem know that that kid's being pulled out
27:35
to go to the... the program for this thing. So
27:39
when it comes to universal prevention programs,
27:41
if everybody in a classroom is getting the skill
27:44
building curriculum, then nobody really knows
27:47
who the kid is that is at relative risk or the
27:51
kid who has maybe already initiated substance
27:54
use because everybody's getting the same thing.
27:57
If there is a... superintendent or organization
28:02
leader or anyone listening that would like to
28:04
learn more or maybe get involved with CSU Prevention
28:07
Research Center's work, where can they go? Well,
28:11
you can go to the Prevention Research Center's
28:13
website, chhs .prevention .colostate .edu, I
28:20
think, probably something like that, or you can
28:22
just Google it. Or you can email me at nathaniel
28:26
.riggs at colostate .edu. I do spend a lot of
28:30
time in front of my computer. If you email me,
28:33
you'll probably get an email disturbingly quickly.
28:36
And I'm always very excited and happy to just
28:39
talk prevention. I just love to, I love my job.
28:42
I love to do the work that I do. And I love working
28:44
with community partners. And so, yeah, if you're
28:46
a school superintendent or a principal, or if
28:50
you're some other community member who is interested
28:53
in learning more about prevention or partnering
28:56
with the Prevention Research Center. feel free
28:58
to reach out. We're always here to support Coloradans
29:02
across the state. So what is something about
29:05
substance use, or I guess in your case, prevention,
29:08
that you would like our listeners to know more
29:09
of? One of the things that I think it's really
29:12
important to impress upon the listeners is that
29:16
prevention isn't just something that's nice to
29:19
have. What we've found over the past 25 years
29:23
of prevention science is that Prevention is the
29:27
most cost -effective way to make a dent in the
29:31
substance misuse challenge. And it's also a way
29:36
to save lives. So one of the best ways to save
29:40
lives when it comes to substance misuse is to
29:42
keep people from using substances in the first
29:45
place anyway, right? And so not only is prevention
29:49
nice to promote all these positive youth development
29:52
skills, It's also a cost -effective way to save
29:57
lives. Nate, thank you so much for joining us
29:59
today. Yeah, thank you very much. I enjoyed it.
30:02
You can find links to learn more about the topics
30:04
we discussed today in the show notes. If you
30:07
have a question about public health in Larimer
30:09
County or a topic you'd like us to discuss, let
30:12
us know. Email us at healthiertogetheratlarimer
30:16
.org. Thanks for listening, Larimer County. Until
30:19
next week, stay well, stay connected, and remember,
30:22
we really are healthier together.