Effectiveness Of Brief Educational Intervention On Knowledge And Awareness Regarding Substance Abuse Among Urban Adolescent Students

Document Type : Primary Research paper

Authors

1 Psychiatric Social Worker, Dept of Psychiatry, SRMC & Research Scholar MCC Chennai

2 Associate Professor, Dept of Psychiatry SRMC

3 Associate Professor, Dept of Social Work, Madras Christian College, Chennai

4 Psychiatric Social Worker, Dept of Psychiatry, SRMC Chennai

Abstract

Introduction Globally, substance abuse is a major public health and social concern. With changes in lifestyle, globalization in substance marketing has increased acceptance of substances. Substance use disorder is the one of major cause for premature death and disabilities in the world, especially among the low- and middle-income countries, particularly in the youth, following lack of knowledge regarding its complications, peer group pressure and influence by social media etc. There is dearth of studies exploring the knowledge and awareness of substance use among students and effectiveness of brief interventions to improve the same. The objective of the study is to understand the level of knowledge and awareness on substance among the targeted group and to evaluate the effectiveness of brief educational intervention towards enhancing the awareness and knowledge among youth.
Methods:
175 students were assessed on various domains of knowledge and awareness about substance use. A brief session imparting knowledge along with a roleplay to improve awareness was conducted for 90 minutes and reassessed. The difference in knowledge and awareness were assessed using paired t test.
Results:
The mean age is 17.53 years with standard deviation of 1.593. And there are statistically significant changes following intervention in all the domains of knowledge and awareness.
Conclusion:
Knowledge and awareness regarding substance addiction is found to be
extremely poor among adolescents particularly in the pre assessment phase,and the current study is an evident that even a brief educational intervention can have considerable impact on improving knowledge and awareness.

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