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SUMMARY
Substance use disorder and overdose, suicide, and youth mental illness are major public health crises that cost the United States in lives, human potential, productivity, and resources. Government agencies at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels work together with health care entities, academic institutions, communities, and community-based organizations to respond to these crises largely with treatment and recovery services. Mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) disorders are mental and substance use disorders and associated problem behaviors, even if they do not meet diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed. Less attention and fewer resources are dedicated to delivering services specifically devoted to preventing such disorders and promoting MEB health and overall well-being. Greater support for prevention could minimize the pain and suffering associated with MEB disorders, and, critically, reduce the burden on overtaxed treatment and recovery systems.
This report provides a blueprint to develop the infrastructure to deliver programs that reduce risk factors (characteristics associated with a higher likelihood of negative outcomes) and promote protective factors (characteristics that can reduce the negative impact of a risk factor and promote better outcomes) for MEB disorders across the life course and in an array of settings. The committee’s charge was to outline the components and requirements of a well-functioning infrastructure to support the delivery of evidence-based programs at federal, state, tribal, and local levels.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Blueprint for a National Prevention Infrastructure for Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/28577.
