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The Community Problem Solving Challenge Program is an innovative extracurricular learning program that engages university students with high school students from inner city, economically distressed neighborhoods to develop entrepreneurial solutions for complex socio-economic problems identified by community leaders. Examples of problems addressed by students in the past include drug use among students and members of the community, the transition of incarcerated population to civil society, food deserts, and mobility. This program overcomes the limitations of the outsider-driven top-down model of community development. In this instance, community "insiders"—the high school students—collaborate with "outsiders"—the university students—to develop entrepreneurial solutions to live problems in their communities. The program illustrates how activities designed using entrepreneurship pedagogy theories can provide engaging, enriching, and effective outcomes. The program benefits all stakeholders participating in it. For example, high school students develop an entrepreneurial mindset, learn entrepreneurship principles by application of frameworks to real-world problems, achieve self-efficacy as they discover that they have agency to transform their communities, and by bringing together community leaders, faculty, college, and high school students the program fosters networks, that according to student feedback, increases the likelihood of the high school participants pursuing a college degree. This paper elaborates on the impact for all stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anyone who went to school in the United States from the late ’80s to early 2000s is likely familiar with the DARE program. For decades American schoolchildren across the nation sat through police-led lectures on how to “just say no” to drugs and alcohol. DARE capitalized on waves of federal funding to ensure DARE-trained police officers were in nearly every U.S. classroom. The problem was, though, DARE, and programs like it, didn’t work. DARE was as ineffective as it was widespread. Those who underwent hours of DARE lectures likely remember the program as a massive failure. And to this day, the failures of the DARE program persist: misinformation on drugs and drug users abounds, children are lied to or kept in the dark on valuable, life-saving information, and police officers run rampant through schools arresting kids. These failures persist because American schools have refused to leave behind the original, unsuccessful DARE program. After DARE was exposed as an educational failure, the program underwent a rebranding as “DARE: keepin’ it REAL,” which is now spreading across the country. But all that has changed is the name. This new DARE still relies on police-officer instruction, stereotyping students, and at-best-untested curricula. This Note highlights the many similarities between the DARE of thirty years ago and the DARE of today and suggests that DARE’s refusal to change from its roots has and will keep the program ineffective. Further, this Note discusses more promising pedagogical approaches to school-based drug education and how those programs can be advocated for, incentivized, and implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study specifically assessed the level of implementation of the Drug Rehabilitation Program, treatment and intervention for Persons Who Use Drugs (PWUD) in Basud, Camarines Norte. It employed descriptive research where 300 respondents participated as respondents. As to the findings, in terms of community preparation PNP Basud initiates advocacy programs on drug education in the community. The least implemented practice was initiating activities in organizing screening for person who use drugs. Meanwhile, in terms of screening, it was found that MHO Basud initiates accomplishing intake form during the screening process. The least practice was initiating schedule check-up by MHO Basud. In terms of assessment, the results showed that MHO Basud ensures other assessment of other mental health conditions using mhGAP IG. The least practice, however, was ensuring request for laboratory/diagnostic test by the MHO Basud. In terms of implementation of intervention, it was revealed that MHO Basud implements community-based treatment for person who uses drugs. The least practice was implements inpatient treatment for person who uses drugs by MHO Basud. Finally, in terms of aftercare program, it was revealed that DILG Basud undertakes community reintegration for person who formerly uses drugs. The least practice, however, was ensuring follow-up for person who formerly uses drugs by the DILG Basud. Comprehensive community-based training programs and educational orientation on drug-related treatment, rehabilitation and interventions may be continuously provided to the implementers of interventions to raise public awareness on the essence, objectives and processes involved in community-based drug rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Set against a backdrop of diminished interest in drug education outside of school settings in Ireland, this paper draws from 10 years of professional practice in the field of drug education and prevention, to reflect on illicit drug use in Ireland and on the lay understandings of illicit drug use encountered by this practitioner. This paper sets out to achieve four things; paint a picture of the Irish illicit drug landscape and of lay understandings of drugs and drug issues; highlight the emergent issue of people obtaining fake drug information on the Internet; explore drug education as a field of scholarship in Ireland; and reflect on 10 years of practitioner experience within the field. Given the complexity of the drug landscape and the proliferation of questionable drug information available online, this paper argues that drug education is an appropriate and worthwhile response to precarious understandings of illicit drugs and drug issues. The paper suggests drug education warrants revival within the Irish context, particularly given the pace of change in both the drugs and online landscapes. To conclude, this practitioner urges other practitioners and scholars with an interest in drug education within the Irish context to revive and advance the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how humanities centers across the U.S. have risen to the challenge resulted due to opioid crisis. It discusses the increasing number of deaths related to heroin in the U.S. roughly one in nine took place in the state, even though it has less than five percent of the U.S. population.

The article highlights the Singapore's drug abuse industry and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB's) drug prevention approach. Topics include its aim to target drug demand and supply; use of strategies including preventive drug education efforts; tough laws with effective enforcement; and effective rehabilitation of drug abusers.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) health professionals working in the alcohol and other drugs field perform a complex role in tackling substance misuse and related harms. Professional training and development opportunities for these "frontline" Indigenous alcohol and other drugs staff is key to prevent burnout and to allow them to work to their full potential. However, there are many barriers for those seeking to improve their skills. A number of teaching approaches have been described as important, but we were unable to identify peer-reviewed publications that detail the optimal approach to tailor university learning to meet the needs of Indigenous alcohol and other drugs health professionals. This article reflects on the experience of providing one such programme: a graduate diploma in Indigenous health and substance use, designed and delivered specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mature-aged students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Cannabis use is common among young adults. Web-based interventions are an increasingly popular way to reach this population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a Web-based tailored intervention, developed on theoretical and empirical grounds, to reduce cannabis use among young people by promoting a more positive intention to abstain. Methods:An experimental design was employed to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention in reducing cannabis use (primary outcome) by bolstering intention (secondary outcome) to abstain from use. Participants were randomly assigned either to an experimental group that received the Web-based tailored intervention or to a control group that did not. Results:Of 588 young adults (18–24 years of age) recruited, 295 were randomly assigned to the experimental group and 293 to the control group. At baseline, 343 reported using cannabis at least once in the past year. An intention-to-treat analysis showed that, at postintervention, a higher proportion of participants in the experimental group had reduced their cannabis use compared with the control group [10.8% vs. 5.1%, χ2(2) = 9.89, p = 0.007]. A mixed model for repeated measures revealed a statistically significant difference in terms of change in intention to abstain from cannabis use in the coming month [Group × Time interaction, F(1,474) = 8.03, p = 0.005]: intention increased for the experimental group (5.07 ± 2.07 to 5.45 ± 1.88; p < 0.001), but stayed stable for the control group (5.32 ± 2.03 to 5.36 ± 1.99; p = 0.779). Conclusion:This study shows that the intervention can be efficacious in reducing cannabis use among young people attending adult education centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the situation of drug use, and association between drug use and drug literacy in secondary school students. Materials and Methods: A census of 2,404 students from 3,468 secondary school students was conducted during their second semester of the academic year 2015. There were 1,120 males, 1,284 females, 1,536 students in grades 7 and 8 (junior secondary school) and 868 students in grades 10 and 11 (senior secondary school). The census was done in the 23 primary and secondary educational opportunity expansion schools. A self-administrative questionnaire was used. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, odds ratio [OR] with 95% confidence interval [CI], Chi-square, and multiple logistic regression. Results: The response rate was 89.4%, in which females (53.4%) and junior secondary school students (65.7%) were predominant. Fifty-four-point-six-percent of the participating students had used any type of drug, including tobacco and alcohol, 59.5% (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.82, p<0.001) were males, 61.9% were aged 15 to 19 years (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.33 to 1.90, p<0.001), and 62.1% (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.33 to 1.92, p<0.001) were senior secondary school students. The types of drug use included alcohol (48.6%), tobacco (27.0%), cannabis (6.2%), inhalants (6.2%), and methamphetamine and other amphetamine-type stimulants [ATS] (3.5%). The lifetime prevalence rate of drug users was 54.6% and in the past three months, the prevalence rate of drug users was 24.0%. Most students who had never used the drugs had drug literacy for 85.1% (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.60, p<0.001). The literacy was associated with tobacco (AOR 0.32, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.54, p<0.001) and cannabis (AOR 0.24, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.38, p<0.001). During the previous three months, the proportion of drug use had declined, but the use was in a high-risk level. Drug literacy was significantly related to the risk level in tobacco and alcohol use (p<0.01). The factors associated with drug use were age, gender, educational level, and drug literacy (p<0.01). Conclusion: There is evidence of drug use in the secondary school students and the use is in a high-risk level for all types of drug. The types of drug use varied in different age groups. The students who have never used the drug have drug literacy higher than those who used the drugs. Therefore, knowledge about drug use should be given appropriately to the students' age, gender, and educational level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction and Aims: Learning is most effective when it is active, enjoyable and incorporates feedback. Past research demonstrates that serious games are prime candidates to utilise these principles, however the potential benefits of this approach for delivering drug education are yet to be examined in Australia, a country where drug education in schools is mandatory.Design and Methods: The serious game 'Pure Rush' was developed across three stages. First, formative consultation was conducted with 115 students (67% male, aged 15-17 years), followed by feasibility and acceptability testing of a prototype of the game (n = 25, 68% male). In the final stage, 281 students (62% female, aged 13-16 years) were randomly allocated to receive a lesson involving Pure Rush or an active control lesson. The lessons were compared in terms of learning outcomes, lesson engagement and future intentions to use illicit drugs.Results: Students enjoyed playing Pure Rush, found the game age-appropriate and the information useful to them. Both the Pure Rush and the active control were associated with significant knowledge increase from pre to post-test. Among females, multi-level mixed-effects regression showed knowledge gain was greater in the Pure Rush condition compared to control (β = 2.36, 95% confidence interval 0.36-4.38). There was no evidence of between condition differences in lesson engagement or future intentions to use illicit drugs.Discussion and Conclusions: Pure Rush is an innovative online drug education game that is well received by students and feasible to implement in schools. [Stapinski LA, Reda B, Newton NC, Lawler S, Rodriguez D, Chapman C, Teesson M. Development and evaluation of 'Pure Rush': An online serious game for drug education. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the developing relationship between neuroscientific understandings of 'addiction' and 'youth'. Drawing on science and technology studies theory and social scientific analyses of both these concepts, it identifies a co-constitutive relationship between notions of addiction as a brain disease and of youth as a stage of brain development. These two concepts are then tracked in a series of drug education documents concerned with alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and addiction among young people, and their implications and effects and analysed together. The aim is to investigate the impact on drug education of neuroscientific approaches to youth and addiction. Are new concepts and directions for harm reduction created in the encounters between neuroscience, youth and addiction, or do they simply reinstate and reinforce existing assumptions and judgments? Is drug education shaped by these concepts likely to achieve its aim, that is, to increase young people's sensitivity to harm and safety? The article begins by introducing neuroscientific accounts of youth and addiction, arguing that the two concepts share three key assumptions. First, both emphasise biology and sideline social context in the making of drug use practices and outcomes. Second, both reproduce uncritical treatments of brain scans (PET and fMRI images) as windows into minds and subjects. Third, both understand the brain as ontologically separate from its environment. These assumptions and their implications are then tracked through an analysis of Australian drug education resources, focusing on how drug education constitutes youthfulness and addiction as pathological disorders. In its reliance on neuroscientific understandings of youth and addiction, we conclude, drug education is unlikely to achieve its goal of reducing drug-related harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the knowledge individuals use to make judgments about persons with substance use disorder. First, we show that there is a cultural model of addiction causality that is both shared and contested. Second, we examine how individuals' understanding of that model is associated with stigma attribution. Research was conducted among undergraduate students at the University of Alabama. College students in the 18-25 age range are especially at risk for developing substance use disorder, and they are, perhaps more than any other population group, intensely targeted by drug education. The elicited cultural model includes different types of causes distributed across five distinct themes: Biological, Self-Medication, Familial, Social, and Hedonistic. Though there was cultural consensus among respondents overall, residual agreement analysis showed that the cultural model of addiction causality is a multicentric domain. Two centers of the model, the moral and the medical, were discovered. Differing adherence to these centers is associated with the level of stigma attributed towards individuals with substance use disorder. The results suggest that current approaches to substance use education could contribute to stigma attribution, which may or may not be inadvertent. The significance of these results for both theory and the treatment of addiction are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the impact of a novel intervention for children at risk for substance use or actively using substances that was provided to 783 children between 4 and 18 years of age in Afghanistan. They received the Child Intervention for Living Drug-free (CHILD) protocol while in outpatient or residential treatment. CHILD included age-appropriate literacy and numeracy, drug education, basic living safety, and communication and trauma coping skills. A battery of measures examined multiple child health domains at treatment’s start and end and 12 weeks later. For younger children, there were no significant Gender or Gender X Time effects (all p’s > .16 and .35, resp.). The time main effect was significant for all outcomes (all p’s < .00192, the prespecified per-comparison error rate). Post hoc testing showed significant improvements from residential treatment entry to completion for all scales. For older children, a time main effect was significant for (all p’s < .00192, the prespecified per-comparison error rate) all but one outcome. Community follow-up means were significantly lower than residential treatment entry means. CHILD had a positive impact on children, and treatment impact endured from posttreatment to follow-up assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recently, social movements across the world have demanded reforms to education systems and other institutions. Although such movements have affected large numbers of people across multiple countries, we know little about the impacts they have had on population health. We focus on one example: the massive strikes and collective occupation of secondary schools across Chile, which occurred contemporaneously with a large increase in marijuana use among students in this age group. We aimed to evaluate the causal effects that the 2011 Chilean school strikes had on adolescent substance use, including the initiation of marijuana use and the use of alcohol and marijuana.Methods: School-level, aggregated panel design using data from the National Drug Surveys among Secondary Students from 2005 to 2015 for students in grades 9-12. We used a fixed-effects difference-in-difference model to estimate the effect of school occupations on prevalence of self-reported indicators of drug use.Results: Reported marijuana use doubled between 2009 and 2013 among Chilean adolescents. After controlling for secular trends in outcomes and for school characteristics, there was no evidence of increased marijuana initiation, alcohol and marijuana use, or of an increase in heavy use among adolescents being directly attributable to school strikes and occupations in 2011.Conclusions: The 2011 Occupy school movement in Chile had no detectable causal effect on substance use among Chilean adolescents. The increase in marijuana use from 2009 to 2013 seems to be part of broader social changes occurring among the school-age population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the role of gender in the constitution youth alcohol and other drug consumption in Australian drug education curriculum. Drawn from an analysis of contemporary classroom drug education documents, it is argued that current drug education reproduces unethical and harmful accounts of femininity and masculinity. These enactments of gender primarily arise in three ways. First, drug education currently positions young women's consumption practices as intrinsically more problematic than those of young men. Second, drug education works to position young women's consumption practices as a problem of spoiled reputation and regret. Third, drug education works to responsibilise young women for potential danger and harm they experience while intoxicated without any consideration of the illegal actions of young men. Working with Annemarie Mol's notion of ontological politics, this article argues that Australian drug education enacts gendered realities of youth consumption that work to reproduce, rather than reduce, a range of social harms, ‘drug-related’ or otherwise. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective With growing access to the Internet, people who use drugs and traffickers started to obtain information about novel psychoactive substances (NPS) via online platforms. This paper aims to analyze whether a decreasing Web interest in formerly banned substances-cocaine, heroin , and MDMA-and the legislative status of mephedrone predict Web interest about this NPS. Methods Google Trends was used to measure changes of Web interest on cocaine, heroin, MDMA, and mephedrone. Google search results for mephedrone within the same time frame were analyzed and categorized. Results Web interest about classic drugs found to be more persistent. Regarding geographical distribution, location of Web searches for heroin and cocaine was less centralized. Illicit status of mephedrone was a negative predictor of its Web search query rates. The connection between mephedrone-related Web search rates and legislative status of this substance was significantly mediated by ecstasy-related Web search queries, the number of documentaries, and forum/blog entries about mephedrone. Conclusions The results might provide support for the hypothesis that mephedrone's popularity was highly correlated with its legal status as well as it functioned as a potential substitute for MDMA. Google Trends was found to be a useful tool for testing theoretical assumptions about NPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background 4,4′-DMAR (4,4′-dimethylaminorex; 'Serotoni') is a potent stimulant drug that has recently been associated with a number of fatalities in Europe. Over the last few years, online communities have emerged as important resources for disseminating levels of technical knowledge on novel psychoactive substances. Objective Analysing the information provided by the fora communities on 4,4′-DMAR use, additionally critical reviewing the available evidence-based literature on this topic. Methods Different website drug fora were identified. A critical review of the existing evidence-based literature was undertaken. Individuation and analysis of qualitative data from the identified website fora were performed. Results The combined search results identified six website fora from which a range of qualitative data on recurring themes was collected. These themes included routes of administration and doses; desired effects; adverse effects; comparison with other drugs; association with other drugs; medications self-administered to reverse 4,4′-DMAR action; overall impression; and provision of harm-reduction advice. Conclusions Although being characterized by a number of methodological limitations, the social networks' Web monitoring approach (netnography) may be helpful to better understand some of the clinical and psychopharmacological issues pertaining to a range of novel psychoactive substances, including 4,4′-DMAR, for which only extremely little, if any, scientific knowledge is available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This survey investigated the level of public awareness, preference, and motivation of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) use as well as knowledge of potential associated health risks. Methods A Bristol Online Survey was advertised through social media and a drug forum 'Bluelight' between January 7 and February 7, 2015. Results Responses were received from 17 countries, mainly from Europe. Most responses (83%) came from university educated students. Two-thirds (65%) of the 168 respondents were aware of NPS. Awareness was significantly increased in those with bisexual or homosexual orientation ( p < .05) and those in employment ( p < .05). Fourteen percent of the 168 respondents were users of NPS, and use was significantly affected by age and employment ( p < .01) but unaffected by level of education ( p > .05). Nearly half of the NPS users perceived NPS to carry either a low risk to health (20%) or did not know whether or not they posed a health risk (29%). Conclusions These survey data indicate that awareness of NPS and, importantly, perception of the potential health risks associated with NPS use is lacking. NPS awareness and use is higher in those in employment but is unaffected by level of education. This highlights the need for targeted drugs education intervention by policy-makers in schools and universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with research of Russian university student attitudes toward drug use. Research was conducted in 2015; and, 150 students from Smolensk universities took part. The sample consists of three age groups of students: 17-18, 19, and 20 years and older. Study results show students view people with addiction in a negative context - weak, stupid, unreliable, and unhappy. Also, attitudes reflect support for extreme punishment of drug traffickers for drug distribution blaming Roma 'Gypsies.' Age of the student respondents was a significant factor affecting attitudes - older students have a more negative attitude about people with addiction and are more inclined to call for harsh punishment. Study results provide usable information for drug policy, education and prevention efforts in Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Vaccination coverage with tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine in pregnancy or immediately postpartum has been low. Limited data exist on rigorously evaluated interventions to increase maternal vaccination, including Tdap. Tailored messaging based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) framework has been successful in improving uptake of some public health interventions. We evaluated the effect of two ELM-based vaccine educational interventions on Tdap vaccination among pregnant African American women, a group of women who tend to have lower vaccine uptake compared with other groups. Methods We conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial to pilot test two interventions – an affective messaging video and a cognitive messaging iBook – among pregnant African American women recruited during routine prenatal care visits. We measured Tdap vaccination during the perinatal period (during pregnancy and immediately postpartum), reasons for non-vaccination, and intention to receive Tdap in the next pregnancy. Results Among the enrolled women (n = 106), 90% completed follow-up. Tdap vaccination in the perinatal period was 18% in the control group; 50% in the iBook group (Risk Ratio [vs. control group]: 2.83; 95% CI, 1.26–6.37), and 29% in the video group (RR: 1.65; 95% CI, 0.66–4.09). From baseline to follow-up, women’s reported intention to receive Tdap during the next pregnancy improved in all three groups. Among unvaccinated women, the most common reason reported for non-vaccination was lack of a recommendation for Tdap by the woman’s physician. Conclusions Education interventions that provide targeted information for pregnant women in an interactive manner may be useful to improve Tdap vaccination during the perinatal period. However, larger studies including multiple racial and ethnic groups are needed to evaluate robustness of our findings. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01740310 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People who use illicit drugs often experience stigma that manifests in systemic discrimination, marginalisation and social exclusion. Drug education, which is underpinned by the information model, and often includes fear-based tactics. Eleven focus groups were conducted with sixty-six young people (14-16 years old) in ten schools in Northern Ireland. These focus groups elicited an in-depth insight into young people's knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about drugs, drug users, and the drug education they receive in school. Interviews with fourteen teachers were undertaken to determine the content of the schools' drug education, limitations they faced in providing drug education and their attitudes towards people who use drugs. Findings included: teachers often used an information-based approach to drug education; often employing a 'shock-horror' approach in an attempt to deter young people from using drugs and becoming drug users, whom the teachers perceived as threatening, dangerous or sick. This type of drug education is ineffective, even counterproductive. Instead of enhancing young people's well-being, the current programme of school-based drug education contributes to the stigma of those who use drugs. This paper suggests ways this situation can be rectified. Recommendations include the application of a harm reduction as a more effective and pedagogically sound way of educating young people about drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exercise training, associated with therapeutic education, is the main axis of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs. The aim of this study was to review the literature for descriptions of the various assessments of exercise tolerance used to prescribe exercise intensity during CR. A secondary objective was to attempt to formulate a rational practice with these assessments in CR programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is fitted in line with research that intended to raise levels of quality of preventive strategies developed, analyzing the differential effectiveness of the school-based programs depending on the application agent. This study analyses the effects of three schoolbased prevention programs on cannabis use and attitudes towards drugs use as a function of provider type. Two hundred eighty students from the first year of Secondary Education were distributed among seven experimental conditions: six treatment conditions (experimental groups) and waiting list condition (control group). Experimental groups were determined by two factors: Type of program (Construyendo Salud program, Saluda program, Barbacana program and Control Group) and Type of provider (regular teacher or external psychologist). The teachers applying the Barbacana and Saluda programs and psychologists applying the Construyendo Salud program obtain better outcomes in both cannabis use and attitudes. The results point out an interaction effect between type of program and type of applicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the mid-1980s the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA) began the largest privately run public-service campaign in history. Turning their day jobs upside down, professional advertisers exhorted young people to resist the temptations of some of the most sought after, if illegal, consumer goods in the country. In doing so they entered a long-running debate in educational circles about how best to teach adolescents about drugs. As one scholar puts it, instruction has pivoted between the "Just Say No" of abstinence favored by conservatives, and a more information- based "Just Say Know" philosophy that liberals hope will help students make "responsible" choices. This analysis of over 40 public service announcements (PSAs) aired widely between 1987 and 1991 reveals how the Partnership aligned closely with the conservatives. Its compelling narratives depicted the perils of drugs and demonstrated why even casual use leads inexorably to serious injury or death. Unlike typical producers of curricular materials, however, many in the Partnership faced a unique difficulty in disseminating that message--their business ties to producers of legal drugs. The PDFA's ads thus came to rest on an unspoken distinction between the hazards of illicit substances, which were skillfully dramatized, and those of licit ones, which had to be ignored. That inconsistency provoked heated criticism as it exposed fault lines in the War on Drugs and Reagan era politics more generally, which uneasily balanced laissez-faire economics with calls for individual responsibility and a return to traditional values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health “perspectives” position school-based drug education as a key site whereby public health imperatives can be brought to life through the “empowerment” of young people to take charge of their bodies to ensure their own good health. Foucauldian governmentality scholarship has been extremely useful in the task of critically examining these attempts to govern the population’s health and drug use, drawing attention to the ways in which classrooms function as biopedagogical spaces where particular sorts of knowledge and truth are mobilized to produce subjects who are rational, autonomous, and “empowered” to make the “right” healthy, drug-free choices. Although the work of Foucault has helped in drawing attention to expert knowledges, discourses, and truths that operate in the production of “healthy” subjectivity, it has been less useful for exploring the affective, desiring, and embodied aspects of school drug education or for examining its potential side effects, including its impacts on bodily capacities, social relations, and empathy. In this article, then, we draw on the work of Deleuze and Guattari to build on and supplement these governmental approaches: to consider what actually happens, affectively, in classrooms when drug education biopedagogies are put into motion, and what implications this has for embodied relations beyond the classroom. We argue that by attending to the affective, desiring, and embodied aspects of school drug education, we get a more nuanced sense of the broader impacts of school drug education: how it functions as a biopolitical site and how it might affect upon health and well-being in ways not considered by discourses of public health nor those of governmentality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the eighteenth International Council of Philosophical Inquiry with Children (ICPIC) Conference, held at Vancouver, Canada in July 2015, on topics including program in drug education, role of dialogue as a pedagogical tool, and social growth of children.

Research has shown that "no use" drug education programs, with the objective of scaring or shaming youth into abstinence, have not been effective in addressing problematic substance use. The ineffectiveness of such scare tactic approaches has led program developers to focus on prevention and harm reduction associated with drug use, or in general, health literacy promotion. While significant 'discussion-based' drug education programs have been developed over the past decade and has encouraged students to be expressive and critical thinkers regarding drug use, their effective implementation has been a challenge. This paper introduces Engaged Philosophical Inquiry (EPI) as a pedagogical approach in order to promote drug literacy. The EPI approach is used both as the content and means of professional development for high school teachers to address the significant role of teachers in these programs. Its goal is to help teachers become aware of and re-evaluate their biases, beliefs and behaviors, before they are able to facilitate a non-stereotyped, open, and thoughtful discussion on drug use related topics. The overall idea of this paper is based on an in-progress research project sponsored by Mitacs organization. It discusses the significance of the project by first presenting the existing methods and theoretical approaches to drug education. On that basis, it shows how EPI can contribute to traditional drug education approaches. It then describes how the methodology and phases of the project are rooted in a dialogical process that aim for a close collaboration with teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Pharmacotherapy for diabetes in real-world clinical settings is very complex and is posing a challenge for residents in training. The purpose of this study was to explore the views of residents in Canada regarding educational priorities for pharmacotherapy in diabetes management. Methods: A questionnaire was developed to explore different domains of pharmacotherapy in diabetes management, including different clinical settings, combination pharmacotherapy with different classes of medications and patients' characteristics, including comorbidities and cardiovascular risk factors. The questionnaire and the letter of invitation was sent to residents through their program directors. The results were gathered through an online survey system. Due to the study design, response rate could not be determined. For data analysis, SPSS Software was used for statistical analysis. Chi-square testing was utilized for comparisons of proportions. Results: Thirty-four residency programs in Canada were contacted and 165 residents completed the study. A significant number of the residents (59%) viewed combination pharmacotherapy for diabetes management as the most important educational priority (p < 0.001). Regarding insulin therapy, combination of insulin with another class of agents was recognized as the most important educational priority by 51% of residents (p < 0.001). Among all classes of medication for blood glucose management the education on the use of newer class of medication such as GLP1 agonists, DPP4 inhibitors and SGLT2 inhibitors was recognized as a priority by 77% of residents (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study provides new data and insights into residents' views on diabetes pharmacotherapy. Educational curriculums may incorporate these views from residents on the educational priorities that were identified in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescence represents a vulnerable time for the development of both drug use/abuse and mental illness. Although previous research has substantiated a relationship between drug use and suicidal behavior, little research has examined this relationship with non-medical prescription drug use. Given the growing prevalence of non-medical prescription drug use (NMPDU) among adolescents, this study explored the association between NMPDU and suicidal behavior. Nationally representative data were derived from 16, 410 adolescents who completed the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Approximately 19.8% of participants reported lifetime NMPDU. NMPDU was associated with significantly increased odds of suicidal behavior (P < 0.01), with seriously considering attempting suicide and making a plan about attempting suicide representing the strongest correlates for males and females. Results suggest the importance of 1) continued reinforcement of drug education programs in high school begun at earlier ages and 2) mental health care and screenings among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education programs are a central element of Australian harm reduction drug policy. Considered less judgmental and more effective than the punitive policies of Australia's past, harm reduction drug education is premised on the goal of reducing 'risks' and harms associated with illicit drug use rather than an elimination of use per se. In this article I analyse two sets of key texts designed to reduce drug related harm in Australia: harm reduction teaching resources designed for classroom use and social marketing campaigns that are targeted to a more general audience. I identify two significant accounts of young people's drug use present in Australian harm reduction drug education: 'damaged mental health' and 'distress'. I then draw on some of Deleuze and Guattari's key concepts to consider the harm reducing potential these accounts may have for young people's drug using experiences. To demonstrate the potential limitations of current drug education, I refer to an established body of work examining young people's experiences of chroming. From here, I argue that the accounts of 'damaged mental health' and 'distress' may work to limit the capacity of young drug users to practice safer drug use. In sum, current Australian harm reduction drug education and social marketing may be producing rather than reducing drug related harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Psychostimulants and cannabis are two of the three most commonly used illicit drugs by young Australians. As such, it is important to deliver prevention for these substances to prevent their misuse and to reduce associated harms. The present study aims to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the universal computer-based Climate Schools: Psychostimulant and Cannabis Module. Methods A cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted with 1734 Year 10 students (mean age = 15.44 years; SD = 0.41) from 21 secondary schools in Australia. Schools were randomised to receive either the six lesson computer-based Climate Schools program or their usual health classes, including drug education, over the year. Results The Climate Schools program was shown to increase knowledge of cannabis and psychostimulants and decrease pro-drug attitudes. In the short-term the program was effective in subduing the uptake and plateauing the frequency of ecstasy use, however there were no changes in meth/amphetamine use. In addition, females who received the program used cannabis significantly less frequently than students who received drug education as usual. Finally, the Climate Schools program was related to decreasing students' intentions to use meth/amphetamine and ecstasy in the future, however these effects did not last over time. Conclusions These findings provide support for the use of a harm-minimisation approach and computer technology as an innovative platform for the delivery of prevention education for illicit drugs in schools. The current study indicated that teachers and students enjoyed the program and that it is feasible to extend the successful Climate Schools model to the prevention of other drugs, namely cannabis and psychostimulants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues Serious educational games ( SEG) have been shown to be effective in educating young people about a range of topics, including languages and maths. This paper identifies the use of computerised SEGs in education about alcohol and other drugs and reviews their impact on the prevention of alcohol and drug use. Approach The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, ERIC, Scopus, psychINFO, pubMED and DRUG databases were searched in February 2013. Additional publications were obtained from the reference lists of the relevant papers. Studies were included if they described an evaluation of a computerised SEG that targeted alcohol and/or other drugs and had been trialled with adolescents. Key Findings Eight SEGs were identified targeting tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, methamphetamine, ecstasy, inhalants, cocaine and opioids. Six reported positive outcomes in terms of increased content knowledge and two reported increased negative attitudes towards the targeted drugs. Only one reported a decrease in the frequency of drug use. Implications and Conclusion This is the first review of the efficacy of computerised SEGs for alcohol and other drugs for adolescents. Results suggest that SEGs can increase content knowledge of alcohol and other drugs. Evidence concerning impacts on negative attitudes and alcohol and drug use is limited, with few studies examining these outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: In Australia, the burden of alcohol-attributable harm falls most heavily on young people. Prevention is important, and schools have long been seen as appropriate settings for pre-emptive interventions with this high risk group. This paper evaluates the effectiveness, in relation to alcohol harm prevention, of the Drug Education in Victorian Schools (DEVS) programme, nine months after implementation. This intervention dealt with both licit and illicit drugs, employed a harm minimisation approach that incorporated interactive, skill based, teaching methods and capitalised on parental influence through home activities. Methods: A cluster randomised, controlled trial of the first ten lessons of the DEVS drug education programme was conducted with year eight students, aged 13–14 years. Twenty-one secondary schools in Victoria, Australia were randomly allocated to receive the DEVS programme (14 schools, n =1163) or the drug education usually provided by their schools (7 schools, n =589). Self-reported changes were measured in relation to: knowledge and attitudes, communication with parents, drug education lessons remembered, proportion of drinkers, alcohol consumption (quantity multiplied by frequency), proportion of student drinkers engaging in risky consumption, and the number of harms experienced as a result of alcohol consumption. Results: In comparison to the controls, there was a significantly greater increase in the intervention students’ knowledge about drugs, including alcohol (p ≤0.001); there was a significant change in their level of communication with parents about alcohol (p =0.037); they recalled receiving significantly more alcohol education (p <0.001); their alcohol consumption increased significantly less (p =0.011); and they experienced a lesser increase in harms associated with their drinking (p ≤0.001). There were no significant differences between the two study groups in relation to changes in attitudes towards alcohol or in the proportion of drinkers or risky drinkers. There was, however, a notable trend of less consumption by risky drinkers in the intervention group. Conclusions: A comprehensive, harm minimisation focused school drug education programme is effective in increasing general drug knowledge, and reducing alcohol consumption and harm. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: In an effort to increase effective intervention following opioid overdose, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) has implemented programs where bystanders are given brief education in recognizing the signs of opioid overdose and how to provide intervention, including the use of naloxone. The current study sought to assess the ability of NYSDOH training to increase accurate identification of opioid and non-opioid overdose, and naloxone use among heroin users. Methods: Eighty-four participants completed a test on overdose knowledge comprised of 16 putative overdose scenarios. Forty-four individuals completed the questionnaire immediately prior to and following standard overdose prevention training. A control group (n =40), who opted out of training, completed the questionnaire just once. Results: Overdose training significantly increased participants’ ability to accurately identify opioid overdose (p <0.05), and scenarios where naloxone administration was indicated (p <0.05). Training did not alter recognition of non-opioid overdose or non-overdose situations where naloxone should not be administered. Conclusions: The data indicate that overdose prevention training improves participants’ knowledge of opioid overdose and naloxone use, but naloxone may be administered in some situations where it is not warranted. Training curriculum could be improved by teaching individuals to recognize symptoms of non-opioid drug over-intoxication. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]