Engagement of youth organisations in prevention interventions in the field of alcohol policy Matej Košir, Institute Utrip (SI) / Oxford Brookes University (UK) Lisbon Addiction Conference Lisbon, 24 th of September 2015
Introduction Let it hapyn! project (APYN, STAP, Eurocare & Utrip) study on alcohol related prevention interventions in youth organisations mapping youth organisations in Europe regarding their involvement in prevention practices (especially alcohol related) & level of young people s participation in those practices
Introduction youth organisations often involved in prevention in the field of alcohol policy (mostly in schools and local communities) alcohol drinking among youth increasing concern worldwide very important that young people are also concerned and try to be active
Survey beginning of 2014 (as part of the project) 64 youth organisations from 28 European countries most represented countries are Slovenia, Croatia, Sweden and Estonia
Comparison between current skills &the importance of those skills in youth organisations Skills relevant for quality prevention developed by SPAN (www.span-europe.eu)
Types of prevention interventions
Evidence for most popular prevention interventions in youth organisations (review) Peer led education / peer led training Age control / over serving Advocacy / media advocacy School based prevention Other interventions
Peer led education / peer led training very common &popular form of prevention interventions in youth organisations recruitment & training of peer educators to deliver interventions in a variety of settings (e.g. schools, youth organisations, youth clubs) often delivered in conjunction with teacher led school based prevention interventions Cuijpers, 2002 & Cairns et al., 2011
Peer led education / peer led training Advantages: communication in a youth friendly style sharing challenges, interests & experiences of youth better understanding of youth situation than teachers or other (mostly external) prevention workers
Peer led education / peer led training Advantages: better level of trust &comfort with their peers for more open discussions of sensitive topics such as health better access to hidden populations value for the peer educators themselves Jaworski et al., 2013 & Medley et al., 2009
Peer led education / peer led training Evidence of effectiveness: very rare, especially there is no evidence regarding relationship between such approach &improved behavioural outcomes in youth Jaworski et al., 2013; Medley et al., 2009; Martin et al., 2013; Cairns et al., 2011
Peer led education / peer led training Evidence of effectiveness: some evidence when combined with peer driven planning &other techniques aimed at deeper engagement with target audiences (including design, development & implementation) Cairns et al., 2011; Anderson & Baumberg, 2006
Peer led education / peer led training Evidence of effectiveness: some evidence that the interactive nature of peer to peer delivery is a key benefit (rather than the peer delivery per se), but this requires expert facilitation and guidance, as well as rigorous evaluation Cairns et al., 2011; Black et al., 1998
Age control / over serving Availability is an important predictor of early & excessive alcohol consumption by adolescents Even if there is an age limit there is still a considerable proportion of minors who can get alcohol very easily and drink heavily (cultural differences, e.g. Nordic countries vs. South Europe) Rossow et al., 2008, Gosselt et al., 2007 & Warpenius et al., 2010
Age control / over serving Evidence of effectiveness: multi component community based interventions can have a significant impact on over serving when training of servers (especially if mandatory) & house policies are combined with effective law enforcement (e.g. licencing control or control on consistency in law implementation), active inclusion of health and social sectors and (media) advocacy actions Warpenius et al., 2010, UNODC, 2013, Gosselt et al., 2012
Age control / over serving Evidence of effectiveness: In some countries (e.g. NL) mystery shopping is rather often used as an effective way of measuring alcohol age compliance Mystery shopping is often combined with adolescents self reports and self reports of store managers or vendors Gosselt et al., 2007 & Gosselt, 2011
Advocacy / media advocacy often very effective way of influencing policyand decision making processes with the aim of developing, establishing or changing policies and practices (e.g. media campaigns, public speaking, commissioning and publishing research or polls etc.)
Advocacy / media advocacy some of the most well known and effective public health advocacy examples include youth involvement in tobacco &(recently) alcohol prevention and control Thackeray et al., 2010; Casswell & Thamarangsi, 2009
Advocacy / media advocacy being involved in advocacy is likely to influence youth health related attitudes, beliefs, opinion, and behaviours Winkleby et al., 2004
School based prevention Use of interactive methods Structured lessons (10 15) once a week with booster sessions after some time Implemented by trained staff (incl. trained peers) Use of life skills, especially problem solving, decision making and resilience Emphasizing short term effects of ATOD Normative education UNODC, 2013 What works!
School based prevention What does not work! Non interactive methods (e.g. one off lectures) Information only approaches or scare tactics Non structural discussions Focusing on self esteem, emotional education only Focusing on moral/ethical decisions and values Ex drug users/alcoholics/addicts testimonials Police officers as facilitators UNODC, 2013; Tobler & Stratton, 1997; Botvin & Botvin, 1992
Other interventions Internal policies or rules within youth organisations (similar to school policies) may reduce substance use among their leaders, staff, members or volunteers and discourage negative behaviours
Conclusion there is a great potential of youth organisation in prevention (especially in multicomponent approaches and/or in partnership with other relevant stakeholders) responsibility of youth leaders is to guide youth organisations towards evidence based and effective prevention interventions
Invitation http://euspr.org/euspr-2015/
Thanks for listening! Matej Košir Institute Utrip / Oxford Brookes University E mail: info@institut utrip.si / mkosir@brookes.ac.uk Website: www.institut utrip.si / www.span europe.eu