HLTH 252 Week 8 Discussion Board Forum 6 Example

Discussion Board Forum 6: Preventing and Treating Substance Use Disorders

HLTH 252 Drugs in Society, Discussion Board Forum 6

Thread by [Student Name]

The classmates are composites; the textbook, Scripture and the peer-reviewed studies cited are real.

Many adults remember a police officer visiting their fifth-grade class to warn them about drugs through the D.A.R.E. program, and many assume it helped. The evidence says otherwise, and the reasons point to what effective prevention requires, which matters for anyone who will plan health programs.

Hart and Ksir (2018) explain that early prevention efforts relied heavily on giving young people information about drugs and their dangers, sometimes with exaggerated warnings, on the assumption that knowledge would change behavior. Research showed that information alone rarely does. More effective approaches teach skills for resisting pressure, correct exaggerated beliefs about how many peers use drugs and strengthen the protective influences of families, schools and communities.

West and O'Neal (2004) combined the published outcome evaluations of D.A.R.E. and found an overall effect so small that it could not be distinguished from zero, confirming earlier conclusions that the program did not prevent drug use. By contrast, Hawkins et al. (2009) randomly assigned 24 small towns in seven states to use or not use Communities That Care, a system in which a local coalition surveys its young people, identifies the community's highest risk factors and chooses tested programs to address them. Following 4,407 students from fifth through eighth grade, the researchers found significantly lower initiation of alcohol, cigarettes and smokeless tobacco and of delinquent behavior in the participating towns, along with less binge drinking in eighth grade. Prevention worked when communities used their own data to choose proven programs, not when an outside speaker delivered the same message everywhere.

Proverbs 22:6 says to train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016). Training is more than telling; it shapes habits, skills and relationships over time, which is exactly what effective prevention programs try to do.

Reply to Alyssa

Alyssa, I agree with your argument that medications for opioid use disorder should be more widely available, and that the stigma against them, including in some churches, keeps people from treatment. Hart and Ksir (2018) explain that medications such as methadone and buprenorphine act on opioid receptors in a steadier, longer-lasting way than heroin or fentanyl, which reduces craving and withdrawal and allows people to stabilize their lives. Some critics say this is just replacing one drug with another, but the goal of treatment is to restore health and function, and people on these medications can work, parent and participate in their communities. I think churches can play an important role by welcoming people in medication-assisted recovery instead of judging them. Romans 15:1 says that those who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016). A congregation that supports someone through treatment, rather than shaming them for it, lives out that obligation.

Reply to Jordan

Jordan, your idea of training peer recovery coaches on campus is a strong one. Hart and Ksir (2018) describe recovery as a long-term process in which ongoing support matters as much as initial treatment, and college can be a difficult environment for students in recovery, since drinking and drug use are often part of social life. A peer coach who has been through recovery can offer understanding and practical advice that a counselor might not, and can help a student find sober activities and friends. I would add that recovery coaches should be connected to campus counseling and health services, so students who need more help can get it quickly. Ecclesiastes 4:10 pictures a companion helping a fallen friend to his feet and grieves for anyone who stumbles with nobody beside him (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016). Peer recovery coaches make sure no student in recovery has to face the pressures of campus life alone.

References

English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)

Hart, C. L., & Ksir, C. (2018). Drugs, society, and human behavior (17th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Hawkins, J. D., Oesterle, S., Brown, E. C., Arthur, M. W., Abbott, R. D., Fagan, A. A., & Catalano, R. F. (2009). Results of a type 2 translational research trial to prevent adolescent drug use and delinquency: A test of Communities That Care. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 163(9), 789-798. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.141

West, S. L., & O'Neal, K. K. (2004). Project D.A.R.E. outcome effectiveness revisited. American Journal of Public Health, 94(6), 1027-1029. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.94.6.1027