Planning an improved prevention
response up to early childhood
Ms. Giovanna Campello
UNODC Prevention, Treatment and
Rehabilitation Section
Two aims
• Present the structure of this session and the following
three sessions.
• Present additional material with regard to evidencebased interventions and policies targeting the prenatal,
infancy and early childhood ages.
Structure of this and
the three following sessions (1/2)
• Presentation
– Summary of etiological issues with regard to the relevant age group
– Present the characteristics that have been found to be associated
with positive outcomes in the interventions and policies which have
been found to have a positive indication of efficacy for the relevant
age group
• Group work in your national groups (1)
– Achieve an understanding of the situation:
• Drug use and substance abuse
• Vulnerability and resilience factor
• Existence, coverage and quality of interventions and policies
Structure of this and
the three following sessions (2/2)
• Group work in your national groups (2)
– Plan improvements in the national drug prevention response
with regard to the relevant age group.
• Presentation of group work to plenary and discussion/
feedback
– Two national delegations
Infancy and early childhood
Key developmental goals
• Development of safe attachment to caregivers
• Age-appropriate language skills, as well as other
executive cognitive functions
• Self regulation
• Pro-social attitudes and skills
Key resilience factors
• Responsiveness to the environment and caregivers’
interactions
• Caregivers who are responsive
• Surroundings that provide stimulation
• Learning how to be effective in having needs met
• Easy to soothe
• Not temperamental
Vulnerability factors on the achievement of
developmental goals
Evidence-based strategies
Characteristics of evidence-based
strategies linked to positive
outcomes
(Mostly!)
Interventions targeting pregnant women
with substance abuse disorders
Characteristics associated with positive outcomes
• Provide integrated, evidencebased treatment services to
pregnant women who suffer
from substance disorders.
• Include treatment of
concurrent mental health
disorders.
• Include attachment-based
parenting interventions.
Prenatal and infancy visitation
Characteristics associated with positive outcomes
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Delivered by trained health workers
Regular visits up to two years of
age of the baby, at first every two
weeks, then every months and less
towards the end
Provide basic parenting skills
Support mothers to address a
range of socio-economic issues
(health, housing, employment,
legal, etc.)
Early childhood education
Characteristics associated with positive outcomes
• Improves the cognitive,
social and language skills of
children.
• Delivered by trained
teachers.
• Provide support to families
on other socio-economic
issues.
Community-based multi-component initiatives
Characteristics associated with positive outcomes
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Promote the implementation of
evidence-based strategies.
Promote work in a range of
community settings (e.g. families,
schools, workplace, etc.)
Provide training and resources to
the communities.
Promote the involvement of
universities to support the
implementation of evidence-based
programmes and their monitoring
and evaluation.
Support communities in the
medium term (e.g. longer than a
year).
Media campaigns
Characteristics associated with positive outcomes
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Precisely identify the target group of
the campaign.
Based on a scientific theoretical basis.
Based on formative research.
Achieve adequate exposure of the
target group for an adequate period of
time.
Connect to other existing drug
prevention programmes.
Target parents.
Aim at changing cultural norms about
substance abuse
Aim at educating about the
consequences of substance abuse
Aim at suggesting strategies to avoid
substance abuse
Media campaigns
Characteristics associated with NO or negative outcomes
• Media campaigns that are badly designed or poorly
resourced should be avoided as they can worsen the
situation by making the target group resistant to or
dismissive of other interventions and policies.
TASK 1 – The situation – 30’
(1/2)
• 1.1 Identify factors of vulnerability and resilience in the
age group under discussion in your country.
• 1.2 List existing interventions and policies (from now
referred to as ‘strategies’) targeting the age group under
discussion, including their coverage.
TASK 1 – The situation – 30’
(1/2)
• 1.3 Review the quality of each existing strategy. Is the strategy:
– a. Data driven?
– b. Adhering to the characteristics described in the presentation and the
Standards?
– c. Based on a scientific theory of change?
– d. Based on a protocol of activities that has been scientifically evaluated?
– e. Including a monitoring component looking at reach (coverage) and
fidelity of implementation?
– f. Including an evaluation component scientifically assessing the impact in
terms of prevented substance abuse?
Task 2 – The plan – 30’
• Discuss what could be priorities for improvement of the drug
prevention response with regard to this age group.
– Examples of possible issues to be addressed: coverage, evaluation,
characteristics, new evidence-based strategy, vulnerability or resilience
factor that needs to be addressed.
• 2.2 Formulate the most important priorities as objectives/
outcomes, including (to the extent possible) indications of:
– Dimension of target group
– Timeframe (short, medium, long term)
– (If you have time), activities