A High School Program for Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This project will develop and evaluate a program to prevent prescription drug abuse in high school students

Detailed Description
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This Fast-Track SBIR project is designed to address the critical need for an effective primary prevention approach for prescription drug abuse (PDA), an urgent public health crisis in the United States. The project involves developing and testing an innovative new approach to the primary prevention of PDA among high school students utilizing e-learning and small group facilitator-led intervention modalities. The intervention is an adaptation of the evidence-based substance abuse prevention approach called Life Skills Training (LST). The adapted intervention will address the relationship between PDA and alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) use and abuse; positively change social norms surrounding ATOD and PDA; discourage diversion of prescription medications; enhance protective factors by building social and self-regulation skills through interactive learning and behavioral rehearsal scenarios.

Official Title
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A High School Program for Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse

Conditions
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Prescription Drug Abuse (Not Dependent), Substance Use, Substance Abuse

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: LST High School Online


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: High school aged-youth Exclusion Criteria: Significant cognitive impairment or severe learning disabilities, as screened by field staff at participating sites

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 11 Years
Maximum Age: 14 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: LST High School Online<br>Provided with the prevention program, consisting of e-learning modules and classroom sessions. | Behavioral: LST High School Online<br>* The proposed preventive intervention for high school PDA will (1) utilize both online e-learning modules and interactive classroom sessions to address PDA and concurrent alcohol/drug abuse; (2) positively change social norms surrounding PDA and alcohol/drug abuse; (3) challenge positive expectancies about the benefits of PDA; (4) discourage diversion of prescription medication; (5) enhance protective factors by building social, self-regulation, and relationship skills through interactive learning and behavioral rehearsal scenarios; and (6) include online booster sessions.<br>|
| No Intervention: Treatment as Usual (Control)<br>Standard health education | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in any prescription drug use in the past year | The investigators will assess (via questionnaire) key study variables regarding prescription drug abuse and hypothesized risk and protective factors. These outcomes will be examined and compared in both the intervention group and the control group at a post-test assessment and 6- and 12-month follow-up assessments. | Post-test (within 2 weeks of completing final session/module of the intervention), 12-month follow-up, 24-month follow-up |