Guidance provided for design, delivery and evaluation of drug education

Media release from Jim Anderton

18 February 2004

Guidance provided for design, delivery and evaluation of drug education

Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton has welcomed the publication today of a draft handbook aimed at providing guidance primarily to schools on how to evaluate the merits of different drug education programmes.

"Strengthening Effective Drug Education in Schools, put together after an extensive literature review and now ready for feedback before a final handbook is published, represents an important step in the coalition government's action programme against drugs," the Progressive leader said.

"We all know that communities, including young people, need to have reliable information about drugs if we want to see a serious reduction in demand for them," he said.

"One thing which is clear from the review is that a harm minimization approach is the best one for drug education and that this can include a number of objectives, including abstinence, so we can all move on from debating that issue and spend more time on delivering effective drug education," Jim Anderton said.

Background:

Effective drug education is listed as an aim in both the Labour Progressive government's Methamphetamine Action Plan (www.ndp.govt.nz) and the overarching Action Plan on Alcohol & Illicit Drugs because youth and communities need have access to reliable information about drugs if we want to see a reduction in demand for drugs.

The Effective Drug Education project (EDE), led by the Ministry of Youth Development, aims to identify and encourage best practice for alcohol and drug education for young people, families and their communities.

The Effective Drug Education Project consists of 3 phases:

Phase 1 - Literature review 2002/03 completed and published

Phase 2 - Resource Development 2003/04 handbook entitled Strengthening Effective Drug Education in Schools is the first resource which is in the process of development and consultation.

Phase 3 - Publication of standards and guidelines and the development of options for community pilots during the 2004-2005 financial year.

Further information:

Draft handbook: www.myd.govt.nz

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