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Workgroup

Workgroup

Purpose

Established in 2018, the Evidence-Based Workgroup (EBW) is dedicated to strengthening substance misuse prevention in Hawai‘i through the data-driven Strategic Prevention Framework. The workgroup supports the State Department of Health’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (ADAD) by building capacity to implement proven, evidence-based programs, practices, and policies. 

Members

The EBW consists of volunteer members representing program evaluators, experts, and ex-officio in the field of substance misuse prevention. Current members are as follow:

Experts
  • Alyssa O'Hair, MPH, MA, CPS, Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies (CASAT)
  • Michelle Park, CPS, Coalition for Drug-Free Hawai‘i
Ex-Officio Members
  • Wayne Buente, PhD, HI-PFS Adaptation Manager, UH School of Communications
  • Sandé Flores, MPH, HI-PFS Evaluation Coordinator, UH Center on the Family
  • Kathleen Gauci, PhD,  HI-PFS EBW Coordinator, UH Center on the Family
  • Cheryl Labuguen, CPS, Hawai‘i State Department of Health, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division
  • Michael Phillips, PhD, HI-PFS  State Epidemiologic Outcomes Workgroup (SEOW)  & OD2AS Principal Investigator, UH Office of Public Health Studies  
  • Sarah Yuan, PhD,  HI-PFS Evaluator, UH Center on the Family

Responsibilities

The EBW will provide ADAD technical assistance and advice on evidence-based prevention interventions, logic models, plans, implementation processes, and unique community needs relative to innovative programs. The EBW will work with a range of prevention issues identified by the communities. 

Examples: 

  • A selected innovative program may need advice from the EBW on data collection efforts to later be eligible for listing as evidence-based.
  • A prevention service provider may need assistance from the EBW to improve its monitoring efforts and achieve a specified level of fidelity in replicating an evidence-based program.
  • A service provider may have questions for the EBW about implementing an innovative program designed to be culturally competent for a particular community, or about the replicability of a selected EBP in local communities.

Focus Areas

  1. Developing policies and guidelines regarding:

    • adaptations and implementation of culturally relevant evidence-based programs to meet fidelity requirements; and

    • evaluation of evidence-based and innovative/emerging programs, practices, and policies;

  2. Advising the selection of evidence-based programs, practices, and policies;

  3. Assisting ADAD in reviewing and providing feedback on evidence-based adaptation requests; and

  4. Providing structured presentations and training on specific topic areas, as needed.

Meetings

Meetings will take place quarterly (February, May, August, and November). All meetings will be conducted via web-conferencing (i.e., Zoom).

Tentative Schedule for 2026

February 13, May 8, August 14, and November 13, 2026.

Additional Information

How the Evidence-Based Workgroup (EBW) Can Support Your Substance Misuse Prevention Efforts