As you use the SHARP Tool, please consider the following:

• The SHARP Tool only includes risk and protective factors that are associated with both substance use and mental health disorders. Other risk and protective factors that independently influence substance use or mental health are not included in this tool. To learn more about risk and protective factors for substance use disorders, review the online resource Levels of Risk, Levels of Intervention.

• The SHARP Tool does not provide a comprehensive list of all shared risk and protective factors for substance abuse and mental health. The shared factors presented in this tool are based on an ongoing, systematic literature review. At present, this review is limited to articles published between 2000 and 2014 that identify factors present at the sub-level "school." We will continue to review the literature to identify additional factors present in the school context and update the tool accordingly. Over time, we will also expand our review to include additional sub-levels (e.g., income, housing).

• When reviewing the literature supporting shared factors, keep in mind that your definition of a substance abuse or mental health term (e.g., alcohol use, academic achievement) may differ from that of the researcher. For clarification on how a term has been defined, it's important to examine the article supporting the factor or contact the author.

• The "study population" age presented in the tool reflects the age of the individuals included in the study; in some cases, this may not reflect the age that the risk or protective factor was experienced, or that the related outcome was produced. For example, if the Factor Report identified bullying and shows the population studied was students in grades 9 - 12, it may be that the bullying occurred before grade 9, or in grades 9 - 12, or both (it may be that the members of the population were asked whether they had been bullied prior to grade 9, in grades 9 - 12, or "ever"). Similarly, marijuana use, an outcome associated with bullying, may have occurred before grade 9, in grades 9 - 12, or both. Although it is likely that the risk/protective factor and the outcome did occur during the period defined by the study population age, users of the SHARP tool should clarify this by reviewing the original article.

• Make sure to read the small print! The studies included in the tool examine a range of populations in a variety of settings. Some of these may be similar to your community; others may not. It's therefore important to carefully review the research summaries before deciding to target any shared factors cited in the literature. If there are significant differences between your community and the setting/population described in the study, you will want to proceed with caution.