Resource Library

This table presents selected strategies to prevent prescription drug misuse. These strategies have been selected because research shows that they directly address common risk factors associated with NMUPD. For each strategy, we provide a brief description and the associated factor(s) it addresses. Please note that while other strategies are currently in use, this list represents the few that have been rigorously evaluated.

The nonmedical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) has become an increasing public health concern in the United States, with abuse rates rising rapidly since the late 1990s. Yet preventing and reducing prescription drug misuse represents a major challenge for several reasons. First, we know less about the factors that contribute to NMUPD than about those that contribute to other drug use. Also, because of how prescription drugs are made available, these factors may differ from those that are associated with alcohol misuse and illicit drug use. This tool provides a starting point for understanding those factors that the research literature has identified as being associated with NMUPD and its consequences. Understanding these factors can help us assess, plan for, and select interventions designed to address them. The factors included in this tool have been organized according to the socio-ecological model, a multi-level framework that allows us to consider the different contexts in which risk and protective factors exist.

Recent legislation in Massachusetts requires that parents of middle and high school athletes and other adults such as coaches, athletic directors, athletic trainers, and school nurses receive educational materials on the potential dangers of opioid use and misuse. The educational materials shall also be distributed in written form to all students participating in an extracurricular athletic activity prior to the commencement of their athletic seasons.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH), Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) and Massachusetts Technical Assistance Partnership for Prevention (MassTAPP) collaborated to provide action steps to help prevent opioid misuse and overdose among student athletes. This fact sheet also highlight resources for addressing possible alcohol or opioid misuse or addiction.

This decision-support tool offers a summary of research findings on risk and protective factors associated with youth marijuana use.

This toolkit showcases some of the exciting ways prevention professionals are collaborating across communities and behavioral health fields to prevent substance use and misuse and promote overall health and wellness in their communities.

This document, available in English and Spanish, provides a list of potential state- and community-level partners to engage in opioid overdose prevention efforts.

These prevention core competencies and accompanying knowledge, skills, and abilities offer professional direction to the prevention field, affecting staff development and career ladders and pipelines, and providing guidance for training programs and service delivery qualification.

How to construct, properly word the questions to prevent bias, format and pretest a questionnaire.

This session of the Race and Health Equity Peer Sharing call series was led by Nic Charest, Debra Morris, and Ben Spooner. The focus of this call was on how we can include youth voice in our prevention work.

We heard from two communities on how they’ve involved youth in their prevention work:

• Kara Showers, Youth Coordinator for Wakefield Youth Coalition (Melrose SAPC Cluster); Logan, Wake-Up Youth Action Team
• Jaime Lederer, Director, Community Health Youth Initiatives, Cambridge Health Alliance (Somerville SAPC - Everett Coordinator); Ileissa Ovalle, Everett Youth Coalition

Resources:

• CSPS PowerPoint Slides
• Summary notes
• Folder with notes and slides compiled from all the previous peer sharing calls

The Racial Equity Data Road Map is a tool toward eliminating structural racism. It's a collection of guiding questions, tools, and resources to assist programs in taking concrete steps to better identify, understand, and act to address racial inequities.

Racial Equity Tools is designed to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity. This site offers tools, research, tips, curricula and ideas for people who want to increase their own understanding and to help those working toward justice at every level – in systems, organizations, communities and the culture at large.

APHA works to improve access to care, bring about health equity, and support public health infrastructure. The Racism and Health section of their website includes a list of resources on how to use a healing and heart-centered approach to eliminate the false belief that any people are superior to others based on their skin color.

Racial disparities in health and wellbeing are well documented. In 2003, the Institute of Medicine issued the landmark report Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare, which connected racism in mortgage lending, access to housing, employment, and criminal justice to racial health disparities. This report and the World Health Organization’s 2008 report on health equity led to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Social Determinants of Health Framework (SDOH), which recognized that racial health disparities are a result of inequalities in education, employment, healthcare, housing, and law enforcement.

This toolkit is a resource for communicators who want to change the narrative about adolescence and adolescent development.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how a truly comprehensive response to substance use and abuse in our country can be implemented. Specifically, this response includes BOTH environmental/policy efforts and individually-focused prevention efforts in order to reduce substance abuse population-wide. Furthermore, it is critical to recognize the invaluable role local, community-based coalitions play in implementing a comprehensive array of evidence-based strategies to reduce underage drinking, tobacco use and illicit drug use.