Evidence-Based Preventive Interventions – Are they Inclusive of Diverse Populations and Do they Build a More Equitable Future for ALL Youth, Families and Communities?

Pamela Buckley, PhD
University of Colorado Boulder

Velma McBride Murry, PhD
Vanderbilt University

ABSTRACT:
Historically, marginalized groups face persistent health and social inequities, underscoring the need for preventive interventions that are both effective and inclusive. This presentation synthesizes findings from two systematic reviews while situating them within a broader effort to modernize how prevention science defines, generates, and uses evidence. The first review (Buckley et al., 2023) examined evaluations of 885 youth preventive programs published from 2010–2021 and found incomplete reporting: 77% of studies reported race (with samples predominantly White or Black/African American), 64% reported ethnicity (in which roughly one-third of participants were Hispanic/Latino), and 31% of studies collapsed across race or categorized race with ethnicity. Fewer than one-third of studies (29%) reported participants’ income background. The second review (Buckley et al., 2025) analyzed 292 rigorous experimental evaluations published from 2010–2023 and found few culturally grounded programs (31%) and limited subgroup testing by race, ethnicity, economic disadvantage, geographic context, gender, sexual orientation, or nativity. Taken together, these findings highlight persistent gaps in the prevention science intervention literature – gaps that reflect constraints within existing evidence standards and the evidence ecosystems shaping grantmaking and scaling decisions. The presentation highlights opportunities to expand evidence definitions beyond internal validity to include external validity, cultural relevance, and health equity. It also outlines how employing responsible AI can support living reviews, expand reporting, automate data extraction, and enhance transparency. Advancing equity in prevention science will require modernized evidence infrastructures. The session concludes with a discussion on ideas for how to accelerate these changes.