Substance Prevention and Addiction Program - Business Plan Example

Substance prevention and addiction program Introduction Drugs of abuse are psychoactive substances that people consume so as to change the way of thinking, behaving or feeling. The most common of these agents include alcohol and tobacco. Other substances may be manufactured drugs or natural drugs. Historically, these substances came from plants such as cannabis, cocaine and heroine. Nowadays, people have found ways to manipulate chemicals and come up with synthetic substances of abuse. These include LSD, ecstasy, “meth”, “Adam” among others (NIDA, 2003). This paper describes a program that will assist in primary, secondary and tertiary prevention with regards to substance abuse. Addiction management is incorporated in tertiary prevention. So as to come with a plausible drug abuse prevention and addiction program, it is imperative to understand several crucial details. It is vital to comprehend the various substances that are abused within the community. It is also important to decipher where the drugs originate. The source of drugs has two entities. The first is where the drugs come through from outside areas, and the supply chain within the locality. One also needs to understand how these drugs affect the bodily organs and functioning. Another crucial detail is to know the drugs by their local names. All these will enable one to come up with a program that is tailor made for that locality (NIDA, 2003). Characteristics of the substance abuse and addiction program The prevention and addiction program must have community support. The support for the program will increase if the community is allowed to participate in the designing and implementation of this program. This implies that there is a requirement of a coalition with already existent community based organizations and ethno-cultural groups. The prevention and addiction program should be tailor made on the needs of the target group. This is in terms of their willingness to hear and listen. In regards to this, one needs to determine the apt channels of communication required so as to achieve the desired outcome. Tonal and emotional qualities of the message should be in such a way that they mobilize the individuals affected by the scourge (NIDA, 2003). The content of the message needs proper formulation. Definition of a drug may be altered by culture. For example, many of the Indo-Chinese and European cultures may not regard prescribed pharmaceuticals and alcohol as drugs (NIDA, 2003). The prevention and addiction program should be disseminated and carried out by trained personnel in the community. This can be community representatives and leaders. These are best suited to instrument such programs as they are considered trustworthy by the community and the target group. The program should have multiple approaches to the scourge of substance abuse. Effective outreach will require multifaceted strategies, which target specific community subgroups. It is also imperative to seek out effective communication channels that will reach out to the target group. These include mass media, written materials, audiovisual materials, booklets among others. In coming up with a plausible program, a duo faceted approach has been utilized. This program involves parents and youths. It aims to address the three levels of prevention; these include primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary prevention entails preventing the use of drugs. Secondary prevention prevents substance use from progressing to abuse. Tertiary prevention deals with addiction and measures to stop and prevent addiction relapse. Involving the parents Primary prevention The family environment has been shown to have a significant influence on potential drug use by adolescents. Therefore, the program will not only focus on the youth, but also involve parents in drug prevention. Parents’ participation in substance abuse prevention programs leads to a significant contribution to positive results for their children. There are several risks factors within the family that might precipitate in substance use and propagate it to abuse. These include poor bonding between parents and children, low parenteral concerns in children activities, poor family management practices, maternal isolation and parenteral approval of drug use (Pierre, 1997). The program must encompass and involve parents in preventing drug use and to terminating dependence. There are several hindrances to implementation of this. These include poor housing, poverty and unemployment. These factors may make it difficult to retain and recruit parents into this program. The program should aim to inspire parental competence and confidence. The program should respond to family values and cultural preferences. The program should be responsive and flexible to parental needs. It is also significant to encourage voluntary involvement of parents. The program should involve parents as partners in implementing and planning program (Pierre, 1997). In instrumentation of the program, basic support activities should also be issued to help the families to cope up with particular crises and daily life. There should be a coordinator to ensure this and make routine home visits. Such support activities should be extended to families who have an incarcerated member. Other types of support can include helping networks, visiting in hospitals among others. This will ensure that most of the parents are recruited into the substance prevention and addiction program (NIDA, 2003). Involvement of the parents in addiction treatment has been shown to have positive outcomes. Family support is essential in addiction therapy. It will help to motivate the addict and make them believe there is life beyond the drug world. Lack of support may lead to further abuse of substances and deterioration. Several strategies can be employed in involving parents in substance prevention and addiction program. The program should identify a right person to lead. The apt leader is one with specific inherent characteristics. The leader should be one who can empower and strengthen families. The leader must remain hopeful and optimistic even in challenging circumstances. The purpose of the program should be clearly conveyed. This includes education on how broach the substance abuse problems with their children, how to tell if their children are abusing and ways to foster support in the event of addiction (Pierre, 1997). Secondary prevention Using the parents approach, secondary prevention would be aimed at attempting to reverse substance use to abuse. Here, the parents are taught on ways to discover when their children are using drugs. This will entail how to know when a person is in the early stages. There are several ways that the parent can find out. New substance users often exhibit certain behavioral changes. They may begin asking for more money, in which they cannot exactly point where there are going to use it. If money is not given to them, they may begin stealing from the family resources (Pierre, 1997). This includes disappearance of valuables and money from homes. Such youths eventually sell those items so as to feed their newly found activities. Parents should intervene in this stage so as to prevent the development of abuse and addiction. Such includes addressing family matters that might precipitate the youths to using drugs. Research has shown that a huge proportion of substance abusers often have family problems, which culminate into stress. It is the duty of the parents to find out any such cause and offer care to them (Pierre, 1997). Early diagnosis of substance use is imperative if a positive response is to be achieved. Parents should also form tight a tight bond with their children and ensure that they do not distant themselves from the affairs of the youth. Parents should motivate their youths to join support groups and interact with reformed drug users so as to learn of the demerits and related complications of continued drug use. Another avenue that should be explored in secondary prevention includes involvement of the local authority (Pierre, 1997). Parents should conduct forums with local leaders and authority to ensure means of mitigating drug use and abuse. The source and spread of such substances should be regulated employing laws and criminal avenues. This is also important in primary prevention. Parents can work with police so as to identify and eliminate suppliers of illegal substances. This will serve to cut off drug supply to those who are beginning to use. This will serve as an effective secondary prevention mechanism. Generally, secondary prevention will entail crises prevention. This will serve interrupt problematic patterns of substance use and decrease use. Tertiary prevention (Addiction) In tertiary prevention, the program will seek to involve parents in various ways. Tertiary prevention occurs at a later stage. It entails salvaging addicts from the quagmire. An imperative thing which parents can do at this stage is making sure their children are enrolled in support groups. These should be support groups dealing with addicts. Here, drug addicts and reformed drug addicts share their experiences. In this way, this will impact positively on those who are abusing. Success has been reported in such programs (Pierre, 1997). Parental enrolling of their children in such support groups often ensures drug use cessation (Pierre, 1997). Those who were addicts previously should be encouraged to join such groups. This will help prevent relapses in such youths. All these while, parental motivation and support, is highly beneficial in ensuring a positive outcome. Addicts are also taught on the way to maintain healthy living while off the drugs. These include healthy eating, regular exercises among others. Parents should help where necessary. This includes provision of the necessary resources needed to maintain a healthy status in former addicts. Another key tertiary prevention measure includes drug treatment. The role of the parents in this is being actively involved in the drug and medical treatment. This includes supporting their children as they receive such treatment. Several medical strategies have been employed as anti-abuse measures. Drugs that decrease the physiological component of drug addiction have been employed. Parents should ensure their children have access to the above treatment modality (NIDA, 2003). Cognitive behavioral therapy has been demonstrated to work. It decreases the psychological part of the addiction. Detoxification is an imperative option to consider during this time. All these while, parental support and involvement, is highly paramount. This will ensure efficacy and efficiency of these medical interventional strategies. Addicts have been shown to exhibit poor prognosis if such medical interventions are not utilized. Lack of parental support is also a poor prognostic indicator. Treatment evaluation and follow up The above cases should be followed up after treatment. They should be assigned specific persons to check on their progress. The person should be in the form of an advisor. Preferably, a reformed drug addict will help to a great extent. Progress noted should be reported and the youth helped accordingly when there are signs of relapse. Involving the youths Primary prevention So as to involve the youths, one needs to have a youth planning team. This will provide the necessary help in tackling the relevant problems when dealing with prevention in the youths. The youth’s team should comprise young people in that community. The team should be comprised of members who have the same concerns regarding drug use and addiction. People with useful skills may be incorporated in the youth team so as to effectively carry out the program. Therefore, the team should include young people who are concerned about drug use, energetic, know about drugs in the community, good at working with others in small groups and know the community. Additional characteristics include good at talking, good artists, prior experiences and computer users (NIDA, 2003). The team members are a role model to the rest of the youths. Therefore, rules should be set regarding the use of alcohol or drugs by the team members. The group should not be larger than 15 people; as this will lead to the difficulty in organization (NIDA, 2003). It is imperative that team members work in unison for the progress of the program. The team should find a good place to meet and work regularly. The team should then seek to find out the common drugs within the community. They should also try to map out and find out what different groups of youth uses. The group should then come up with locality for each drug. They should find out the reasons as to why the drugs are used in that region. The group should seek out how much the young people know with regards to the adverse effects of drug use. An important step in your drug prevention program would be to find out about existing programs in the area. This will enable the finding out of challenges existent in implementation of the programs activity. The existent programs will also assist on how to avert these challenges (Pierre, 1997). One way in which the youth team can reach out to the target group is by focused group discussions. Here, several members of the youth group can hold meetings with target groups. In these groups, the subject of drug abuse can be deliberated. One should engage the group into open questions that will evoke answers from the youths. The content of the meeting may include talking about the cause of drug abuse in that population. Discussions may also occur with respect to the adverse effects and consequences of drug abuse. This should be conducted in an open and non-dictating manner. At the end of the discussion, one may summarize what has been discussed. Secondary prevention Youth support groups should be created. This should reach out to the youths that have commenced substance use. The aim of this support groups is to prevent the development of abuse and addiction. The leaders of such groups should have the necessary skills so as to broach this issue with the required diligence. Psychosocial support may be offered to the substance users. The way forward should be discussed with the users. It is important to note that most substance users are jobless, or lack an alternative and suitable activity. This youth group can come up with projects that the youths will carry out. This will help divert attention from drugs to more constructive activities (Pierre, 1997). Tertiary prevention Youth groups may liaise with addiction support groups. They may help in enrolling addicts to such programs where they can interact with other addicts and share experiences. Such support groups also prevent reoccurrence of the addiction problem after resolving. Such support groups will have measures so as to involve reformed drug addicts in spreading the message of anti-abuse. The reformed addict is better placed to give a personal account of the deleterious effects of substance addiction (NIDA, 2003). The youth group can also help in the acquisition of the necessary drugs needed for addiction treatment. They should develop activities that will keep busy reformed drug addicts. Physical activity has been shown to accelerate healing of psychological and physiological addiction. Reference List National Institute on Drug Abuse (2003). Preventing drug abuse among children and adolescents: A Research Based Guide for Parents, Educators, and Community Leaders (Second Edition). Department of Health and Human Services. St. Pierre, T. (1997). Involving parents of high-risk youth in drug prevention: A three-year longitudinal study in Boys & Girls Clubs. Journal of Early Adolescence, 17 (1), 21-50. Read More