141st APHA Annual Meeting

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286171
Engagement: Preventing drug abuse by empowering teenagers with the facts about drug abuse and addiction

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Ellen Robinson, M.H.S., P.M.P. , IQ Solutions, Rockville, MD
Carol Krause, M.A. , National Institute on Drug Abuse, Rockville, MD
A mission of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is to reduce drug abuse among youth by creating science-based educational materials through the NIDA for Teens (N4T) initiative. Components of N4T include the Sara Bellum Blog (SBB), National Drug Facts Week (NDFW), and the prescription drug abuse prevention program PEERx. The N4T Web site, SBB, NDFW, and PEERx present drug abuse information in a way that facilitates interactive engagement and encourages teenagers to learn drug facts through activities that empower them to be leaders in their communities. Central to these efforts is NIDA's emphasis on target audience feedback during all stages of materials development. NIDA's Teen Advisory Group (TAG), a group of teenagers from around the United States, meets regularly online to provide feedback on NIDA materials. The TAG provided insight during the development of PEERx's hallmark Choose Your Path videos, guided the selection of a logo and design for the refreshed N4T site, and offered NDFW event and promotion ideas. To receive input from another core audience, NIDA organized the Teachers/Educators Advisory Group (TEA), composed of educators who work with teens, to evaluate NIDA's educational materials. The TEA helped shape the refreshed N4T educators' resources Web page and provided insight into how SBB and N4T could be used in educational settings. Gathering input from teenagers and educators allows NIDA to create effective, customer-centric prevention materials. This session will highlight how to leverage target audience feedback to develop interactive materials that appeal to and engage teenagers and their influencers.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Communication and informatics
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning

Learning Objectives:
Explain the importance of gathering target audience feedback during the development of prevention materials for educators and youth. Discuss different methods of engaging youth in substance abuse prevention by using interactive methods to share facts about drug abuse and addiction. Demonstrate how interactive materials can enhance school prevention curricula.

Keywords: Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Ellen Robinson currently serves as the Project Director for the National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Dissemination contract and provides senior-level social marketing and program planning support for national public health campaigns. In this role, she conceptualizes promotional tactics to disseminate materials and messages to specific audiences. She has over 16 years of experience in project management and health communications, and has provided communications counsel to a range of Government, foundation, and nonprofit clients.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.