USPSTF stops short of recommending pediatric drug prevention

Abstract

In its most recent recommendation, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) last week said there is not enough evidence to recommend either for or against clinicians providing counseling to prevent drug use in young people. In the final recommendation statement, “Primary Care–Based Interventions to Prevent Illicit Drug Use in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement,” published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the task force concluded that “the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of primary care–based behavioral counseling interventions to prevent illicit drug use, including nonmedical use of prescription drugs, in children, adolescents, and young adults.”