What works in school-based alcohol education: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: Considerable attention has been focused on the impact of young people’s alcohol use. To address this, schools often implement alcohol and drug education and there are many potential programmes to choose from. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify evidence-based alcohol education programmes for schools. Methods: A systematic review was undertaken of school-based programmes that targeted alcohol within a school setting and included at least one alcohol behaviour or knowledge change outcome. Six-hundred seventy-five abstracts were screened resulting in 454 studies assessed for eligibility, with 70 studies, evaluating 40 individual programmes, included in the final review. Results: Of the 40 programmes, 3 had good evidence of a positive effect. They included CLIMATE Schools (Australia), Project ALERT (USA) and All Stars (USA). Of the others, 4 showed some evidence of positive effect, 1 had no evidence of effect, 29 were inconclusive and 2 showed negative outcomes, such as increases in alcohol use. Although many programmes were evaluated, very few had sufficient evidence to be able to endorse their widespread implementation in schools. Conclusion: Three programmes included in the review had sufficient positive outcomes to be recommended for implementation, and four showed good outcomes in some areas. Schools should consider these results when deciding on introducing alcohol education. Overall, the evidence base is broad but relatively weak and further research is required, focusing on programmes identified as having good or potentially good outcomes.

Empowering young people to make Positive Choices: Evidence-based resources for the prevention of alcohol and other drug use in Australian schools

“…The Positive Choices development and evaluation process demonstrates a number of strengths, including the use of a co-development model, whereby end users were consulted during the formative design phase, development phase, beta-testing phase, and post-launch to determine the impact of the site on key outcomes. Development of Positive Choices was guided by the effective principles and components identified through recent systematic review (Lee et al, 2016). Our evaluation followed an established health promotion evaluation framework (the RE-AIM model), and drew on multiple sources of information including user self-report and objective use data from google analytics.…”

“…These programs have demonstrated varying degrees of effectiveness with outcomes of some programs compromised by obstacles to program implementation and dissemination, and inclusion of an abstinence-based as opposed to a harm-minimisation approach to prevention (Champion, Newton, Barrett, & Teesson, 2013;Lee, Cameron, Battams, & Roche, 2016;Teesson, Newton, & Barrett, 2012). A recent review conducted by the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction systematically examined the effectiveness of school-based alcohol prevention approaches (Lee et al, 2016).…”

“…The systematic review also provided guidance about the common characteristics of programs that were effective. These included: i) being based on accurate information, theoretical understandings of adolescent behaviour, and supported by empirical research; ii) going beyond providing factual information, and focusing on harm minimisation and skill development; iii) providing feedback about social acceptability, and highlighting that alcohol and other drug use is not as widespread as young people might think; iv) use of interactive styles and methods, and maximising students' interest using up-to-date materials and information; and v) promoting student resilience, social connectedness, encouraging strong relationships and communication between students, parents and staff (see Lee et al, 2016 for a detailed discussion of effective components).…”

“…This paper describes the development of the Positive Choices online portal (www.positive choices.org.au), which was developed to improve access to and implementation of evidencebased drug and alcohol information and prevention resources. The Positive Choices portal was developed to align with the principles of effective prevention that have been identified by systematic review of the literature (Champion et al, 2013;Foxcroft & Tsertsvadze, 2011;Lee et al, 2016;Teesson et al, 2012). Positive Choices seeks to address the gap in implementation of evidence-based drug education in Australian schools, and responds to a call from principals for resources to support schools in building capacity to respond to drug and alcohol issues (Australian National Council on Drugs, 2013).…”

Development and evaluation of ‘Pure Rush’: An online serious game for drug education

“…Consequently, delaying initiation to substance use is critical. Schools are an opportune location for these prevention efforts; however the evidence‐base is relatively weak, with only a handful of school‐based programs demonstrating tangible benefits . Systematic reviews indicate that approaches that extend beyond provision of drug information are most likely to be effective .…”