Prevent First Time Use Through Education
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Overview
Prevention is defined as the action of stopping something from happening or arising. Prevention through education can be an effective way to prevent drug misuse and substance use disorder, which will reduce the numbers of overdose and fatal overdose within a community. These are often longer term strategies, especially within the context of educating young people about the dangers and realities of starting to use substances.
Educational prevention programs can - and should - start at an early age. Society often promotes and glamorizes substance use, and young people are often exposed to substance use within their families and often feel peer pressure from friends who are using substances. These are powerful forces in a young person's life that can be counteracted with effective education programs.
Education and prevention is an important part of helping individuals understand the dangers of drugs and alcohol. The main focus of drug education and prevention is teaching individuals about drug and alcohol abuse and the harmful impacts it has on people's lives. For this reason hearing stories from those with lived experience is a powerful prevention tool. There is no substitute from being face to face with someone and hearing first hand what their experience was like. These and other types of programs can help a person learn how to avoid, stop, or get help for addiction.
Efforts also include those that target parents and provide them with the tools needed to educate their children about the dangers of drug use. Parents are also educated to bet aware of warning signs that their child may already be using. This can lead to an early intervention that often prevents the progression into substance use disorder.
The types of prevention programs are nearly endless. Many successful approaches have been developed to target all types of populations. Programs have been developed to focus on different age groups, different racial and ethnic backgrounds, schools, families, faith-based organizations, and the wider community. The types of prevention programs are also extensive. Wile many focus on the impacts of drug use, others focus on building up the individual and helping them address risk factors like anxiety and trauma that often lead to drug use. Other prevention programs take the form of public awareness campaigns that seek to educate and warn large numbers of people.
Key Topics and Strategies
References and Related Articles
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Surgeon General, Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health. Washington, DC: HHS, November 2016.
Hanley Foundation. The Hanley Foundation is a national non-profit with a variety of prevention initiatives.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Good Policy and Practice in Health Education - "Education Sector Responses to use of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs."