Components of a national drug
prevention system
Ms.
UNODC
National drug prevention system
1. Strong delivery infrastructure as one of the critical
components of a national drug prevention system
1. Strong delivery infrastructure as one of the critical
components of a national drug prevention system
Prevention as part of health centered drug control
framework
Support by
other health, education and social policies
Supportive regulatory frameworks – Some
examples
• Skills based education included in the national school
curriculum and in the teacher training system.
• Mandating schools and workplaces to implement
participatory and supportive substance abuse
prevention policies.
• Offering pre-natal care with psycho-social services to
families at risk.
• Reducing access of youth to licit substances
National standards for drug and substance abuse
prevention
•
setting the minimum standards for interventions and policies
•
national professional standards for drug and substance prevention
practitioners, setting the minimum competencies and skills
•
-
… setting the stage for the
>
training of practitioners
>
training of decision makers
>
training of researchers
Resources and ongoing training
• Trained policy makers, practitioners, researchers.
– Ongoing training
– Professionalisation
• Adequate financial resources
Sustainability
• Medium – long term prevention strategies with
resources.
• Mechanism foreseen for review at regular intervals on
the basis of data and evidence.
• Training is provided on an ongoing and regular basis to
maintain professional capacity.
http://www.cicad.oas.org/
main/pubs/ How_to_Develop_a_National_Drug_Policy_CICAD-CARICOM.pdf
http://www.cicad.oas.org/
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu
Prevention Hub by Mentor International
www.preventionhub.org
Task in national groups
• Please go through your national plan for improvement.
• Is there anything that you need to add so that interventions and
policies are supported by a strong delivery structure?
• It could be a new objective
– For example, national standards for drug prevention interventions and
policies developed and adopted.
• It could be activities under existing objectives
– For example, if you want to develop prevention education in schools, you
might want to add the adoption of a relevant regulation.
– If you want to implement a new intervention or expand an existing one,
have you foreseen sufficient training?
• What about sustainability?
National drug prevention system
2. A range of stakeholders involved in planning and delivery as
one of the critical components of a national drug prevention
system
A range of stakeholder at different levels and from
different kinds of institutions and sectors (1/2)
A range of stakeholder at different levels and from
different kinds of institutions and sectors (2/2)
Multiple sectors, levels, institutions
•
•
•
•
Strong coordination
Integration horizontally and vertically
Clear roles and responsibility
Stages of the project cycle
–
–
–
–
Planning
Delivery
Monitoring
Evaluation
Sustainability
• Integration and coordination
– It is sustainable?
– Could it be streamlined?
• Mechanisms for integration and coordination at regular
times
Task in national groups
• Please go through your national plan for improvement.
• Is there anything that you need to add so that
interventions and policies are supported by a range of
stakeholders?
• Do you need a new objectives or new activities?
• What about sustainability?
3. Scientific evidence and research as one of the critical
components of a national drug prevention system
Implementation of strategies based on scientific
evidence, data and evaluation
Data collection system (1/2)
• Epidemiology – Who is using?
– Initiation age, transition to disorders, drugs used, patterns of
use, risk groups.
• Influences - Why are they using?
– Vulnerabilities and protective factors
• Consequences
– Use and dependence related harm and costs (e.g. mortality,
crime, HIV, foster care...)
Data collection systems (2/2)
• Utilizing multiple different
data-sources
– Registers in substance abuse
treatment, health care, juvenile
and law-enforcement systems,
social welfare, etc.
– Local and national surveys
• Collecting data at regular
intervals
• Feeding the data to the
planning and development of
prevention systems
Utilizing evidence based strategies (1/2)
• Theory-based
– Scientific understanding of the vulnerabilities addressed
– Scientific theories on behaviour change
• Monitoring
– Monitoring of implementation fidelity and reach
• Evaluation of effectiveness
–
–
–
–
Quasi-experimental or experimental
Collaboration with research institutions
Intermediate outcomes (mediators)
(Long-term) outcomes (substance use)
• Consulting existing standards
– EMCDDA!
Example of quality standards for the planning, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of prevention programmes
Utilizing evidence based strategies (2/2)
• Utilising programmes that have evidence of
effectiveness from elsewhere
– Systematic process for adaptation
– Minimal adaptation first with monitoring of fidelity and
scientific evaluation
– Possible deeper theory-based adaptation later
– Involve research institution/ university and possibly the
developer
Example of compilation of evidence-based
programmes to choose from
More in-depth discussion of adaptation
Other examples from the Canadian Centre on
Substance Abuse - www.ccsa.ca
Task in national groups (1/2)
• Please go through your national plan for improvement.
• Is there anything that you need to add so that
interventions and policies are supported by scientific
evidence and research?
• Do you need a new objectives or new activities?
• What about sustainability?
Finally …
Task in national groups (2/2)
• Please go through your national plan for improvement.
• Is your plan really complete?
– All ages …. Hopefully yes! What about critical transition
periods?
– All relevant settings
– All risk groups
– All risk levels (universal, selective, indicated)
• Anything you might want to add or prioritize at this
stage?