Abstract
BackgroundPsychostimulants and cannabis are two of the three most commonly used illicit drugs by young Australians. As such, it is important to deliver prevention for these substances to prevent their misuse and to reduce associated harms. The present study aims to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the universal computer-based Climate Schools: Psychostimulant and Cannabis Module.MethodsA cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted with 1734 Year 10 students (mean age = 15.44 years; SD = 0.41) from 21 secondary schools in Australia. Schools were randomised to receive either the six lesson computer-based Climate Schools program or their usual health classes, including drug education, over the year.ResultsThe Climate Schools program was shown to increase knowledge of cannabis and psychostimulants and decrease pro-drug attitudes. In the short-term the program was effective in subduing the uptake and plateauing the frequency of ecstasy use, however there were no changes in meth/amphetamine use. In addition, females who received the program used cannabis significantly less frequently than students who received drug education as usual. Finally, the Climate Schools program was related to decreasing students’ intentions to use meth/amphetamine and ecstasy in the future, however these effects did not last over time.ConclusionsThese findings provide support for the use of a harm-minimisation approach and computer technology as an innovative platform for the delivery of prevention education for illicit drugs in schools. The current study indicated that teachers and students enjoyed the program and that it is feasible to extend the successful Climate Schools model to the prevention of other drugs, namely cannabis and psychostimulants.Trial registrationAustralian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12613000492752.
Highlights
Psychostimulants and cannabis are two of the three most commonly used illicit drugs by young Australians
The current study draws on previous research on universal school-based prevention programs known as Climate Schools
To account for clustering at the school level, hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) utilising HLM 6 [28,29] was conducted for normally distributed data while hierarchical generalised linear modelling (HGLM) using Poisson sampling was used for count data
Summary
Psychostimulants and cannabis are two of the three most commonly used illicit drugs by young Australians. Together the modules make up the 12-lesson Climate Schools: Alcohol and Cannabis Course This course has been evaluated in a cluster RCT in 10 Australian schools [19,20] and was found to significantly improve alcohol and cannabis knowledge, reduce average alcohol consumption and the frequency of drinking to excess and using cannabis. These results, as well as positive feedback from students and teachers [19,21], provided the impetus to assess if this innovative delivery platform could be extended to other illicit drugs of concern
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