The Drum Beat 408 - Communication for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment

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This issue of the Drum Beat highlights efforts to address substance abuse and communication aspects of treatment and prevention programmes, with a focus on strategic programming, policies, and planning, especially for prevention-related communication with youth.

If you would like your organisation's communication work or research and resource documents to be featured on The CI websites and in The Drum Beat newsletters, please contact Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com

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ADDICTION PREVENTION

1. Anti-drug and HIV/AIDS PSAs
The Advocacy Section of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) produces and disseminates multimedia materials aimed at raising global awareness about drug abuse issues, such as the linkage between injecting drugs and HIV/AIDS. UNODC's radio and television public service announcements (PSAs) are available free of charge, around the world, for unrestricted use. UNODC seeks "the cooperation of broadcasters and [non-governmental organisations, or] NGOs to distribute them as widely as possible." These radio spots are available with or without music, some in male and some in female voices, and may be downloaded in MP3 format. Various spots are offered in Amharic, English, French, Swahili, and Spanish. The spots have accompanying fact sheets.

2. Kids on the Block-Vermont - Vermont, United States
Formed in 1982, Kids on the Block-Vermont (KOBVT) is a non-profit volunteer organisation using life-sized puppets to teach children in the state of Vermont how to keep themselves safe and healthy and to appreciate each other's physical and cultural differences. KOBVT consists of a troupe of volunteer actors using puppets to teach children about disabilities, cultural diversity, mental health, social and safety issues, substance abuse, healthy bodies, and AIDS. The volunteers work to dispel myths by providing accurate information and encouraging children to accept individual differences and feel positive about themselves.
Contact kids@kidsontheblockvermont.org OR kobvt@Kidsontheblockvermont.org

3. Community-based Prevention Using Simple, Low-cost, Evidence-based Kernels and Behavior Vaccines
by Dennis D. Embry
In this article, published in August 2004 in the Journal of Community Psychology, Dennis Embry seeks to demonstrate a new way forward to stimulate community-level change to address various "multiproblems" like substance abuse, delinquency, violence, and school failure through what he refers to as behavioural vaccines. The author states "This article introduces a rational alternative: promotion of evidence-based behavioral kernels and vaccines that have a chance of becoming cultural practices. Evidence-based kernels are irreducible units of behavior-change technology that produce an observable, reliable result."

4. Talking with Kids About Alcohol and Drugs
by Lynne S. Dumas
This website is part of a series of web pages from the national (United States) campaign "Talking With Kids About Tough Issues" by Children Now and the Kaiser Family Foundation. The resource is designed to give adults support in talking to young children about difficult societal and personal pressures, such as sex, violence, and HIV and AIDS. It recommends starting the conversation early, based on national studies that show the average age when a child first tries alcohol is 11; for marijuana, the average age is 12.

5. Smoking, Alcohol and Drugs on Television: A Content Analysis
by Dr. Guy Cumberbatch and Sally Gauntlett
This document is the result of independent research commissioned by Ofcom, regulator for the United Kingdom (UK) communications industries, to assist in the consideration of points raised by the July 2004 public consultation on the Ofcom Broadcasting Code. Researchers were tasked with undertaking a content analysis on the depiction of alcohol and drug abuse. The research conclusions were part of the information taken into account by Ofcom in reaching a decision about the final wording of rules regarding drugs, smoking, solvent abuse, and alcohol abuse.

6. HEARTLINES - South Africa
Based on the premise that South Africans - irrespective of race, culture, or creed - share many of the same values, HEARTLINES is using multimedia strategies to create debate about these values and reinforce them through a variety of projects. The initiative aims to tackle social issues, such as HIV/AIDS and poverty, through the participation of faith-based organisations, and to offer resources to foster communication about values. It uses television dramas and print materials for parents and children aged from 3-7 years old to impact HIV/AIDS. The television series aims to impact on the "heart of HIV/AIDS" which the organisers believe is fuelled by high levels of violence, corruption, drug abuse, family breakdown, poverty, and unemployment in South Africa.
Contact Val Pauquet val@heartlands.org.za

7. Global Youth Network
This is a United Nations initiative working to create a community of interest among youth and youth workers in the field of drug abuse prevention. The aim is to increase communication between youth groups and the UNODC,, as well as to collect and disseminate information on good practices and to build the capacity of youth groups across the world to successfully conceptualise and implement drug abuse prevention projects.

8. Process Evaluation in a Randomized Community Trial of a Youth-Aimed, Substance-Use Prevention Media Campaign
by Maria Leonora G. Comello, Michael D. Slater, and Kathleen J. Kelly
Published in the inaugural issue of the journal Cases in Public Health Communication & Marketing, this article explores the importance of process evaluation as a key to the effectiveness of any public health campaign, especially during longitudinal and multi-site field studies. In order to help meet the need for more information on process evaluation, which public health and communication researchers have increasingly articulated (according to the article), the authors here describe the undertaking - and share the results - of a community-based process evaluation of a substance-use prevention media campaign carried out in the United States called "Be Under Your Own Influence".

9. Harm Reduction Center for Drug Users - Tirana, Albania
The Harm Reduction Center was launched by Aksion Plus in December 2000 to offer services to drug users in Albania. The goal of the centre is the implementation of a holistic programme to reduce harm related to drug use, decrease drug use, and prevent related social and individual consequences, such as HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, particularly among injection drug users. The programme includes peer education, training of service organisations, and advocacy. The objectives of the centre are to: raise consciousness and prompt actions amongst policy makers, parliamentarians, government officials, and local authorities; conduct questionnaires and surveys with drug users; maintain contacts and improve collaboration with other networks, NGOs, the media, and governmental structures; and increase advocacy on drug users' reproductive and sexual health as well as HIV/AIDS prevention and drug abuse.
Contact Genci Mucollari gencaxionp@albmail.com

See Also:

10. Applying Health Communications and Social Marketing to Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Problem Prevention

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PULSE Poll

Do you agree or disagree?

HIV/AIDS advocacy campaigns and education programmes for pregnant women in Latin America should include a HIV testing component in order to reduce stigma and discrimination.

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PROGRAMMES ADDRESSING YOUNG PEOPLE

11. Teenage Life Programme - Tanzania
Initiated in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, in July 2002, Teenage Life involves travelling throughout Tanzania spreading the word to young people about how to deal with the problems they face. The project warns youth about prostitution, rape, drug abuse, drunkenness, and robbery - all of which are believed to play a significant role in the spread of HIV/AIDS. The project seeks to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania. It also aims to facilitate youth participation in the development process, in programmes to build their skills and capacities, and in initiatives for positive and sustainable change.
Contact Leonard Boniface LBM2015@Gmail.com OR teenagelifetz@hotmail.com

12. Endurance - Seattle, Washington, United States
Endurance is an artistic installation that portrays the lives of 26 homeless teenagers in the city of Seattle (in the state of Washington, the United States) through portrait photographs and an accompanying video production. The artistic production has been used to help facilitate community dialogue by bringing together homeless youth with community leaders and decision makers. Endurance uses artwork - photography and video - to address public perceptions of the homeless and issues of drug addiction through public dialogue and storytelling. In 2001, Peace on the Streets by Kids from the Street, a homeless youth advocacy organisation that provides assistance and addresses community misconceptions about homelessness, commissioned artists Bradley McCallum and Jacqueline Tarry to create a work that would give voice to the issues that homeless youth in Seattle face.
Contact Bradley McCallum brad@mccallumtarry.com

13. Creative Inner City Initiative (CICI) - South Africa
This project provides opportunities for inner-city youth in Johannesburg, South Africa, to express their frustrations and dreams in creative ways, with the goal of empowering them through performance, crafts, and visual arts. Housed in an old school building in Joubert Park, CICI provides facilities for youth to channel their creative spirits in the context of the poverty, crime, drug abuse, and other stresses that characterise this low-income neighbourhood. CICI offers training and development in street theatre, visual arts, and crafts. CICI seeks to build the confidence of, and to support creativity within, inner-city youth by providing them with an outlet to express their reflections on day-to-day life in the city.
Contact Carol Liknaitzky carol@pixie.co.za

14. Women on the Rise! - United States
Launched in 2004 by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami, Florida, in the United States, Women on the Rise! is an outreach programme designed for at-risk teenage girls. The programme consists of workshops in contemporary art, art history, and creative writing that present contemporary female artists as positive role models in order to boost participants' self-esteem and critical thinking skills. The outreach programme was introduced at 6 centres for teenage girls coping with juvenile detention, drug abuse, sexual and physical violence, or emotional disorders. The four 2-hour workshops focus on women artists such as Ana Mendieta, Wangechi Mutu, Shirin Neshat, and Ellen Gallagher.
Contact Shara Banks sbanks@mocanomi.org

15. It's Our World, Our Future Too: Young People's Voices on Environment and Health Priorities - Europe
"It's our world, our future too," is the title of a video produced by the Health & Environment Alliance (HEAL) aimed at making children's voices heard. The video is used as a medium to involve children in policy making, and to allow young people to speak out about the environments that are failing them. In the film, youth from Russia, Belgium, Hungary, and the United Kingdom (UK) describe how the damaged and deprived physical surroundings in which they live are affecting their health; in the UK, most complaints relate to drugs, violence, and graffiti.
Contact Monica Guarinoni monica@env-health.org

16. Bolivia's Children's Parliament: Bringing Participation to the National Stage
by Jayashri Sarkar and Blanca Mendoza
This article shares the experience of the Bolivian Children's Parliament. According to the article this model has brought together children, adolescents, and governmental and non-governmental institutions in realising children's right to participate in issues that affect their lives at a national level. The involvement of children and adolescents helps to create the conditions through which they can develop their own judgment and become better positioned to make valuable contributions to society. They have demonstrated a desire to protect and call attention to the needs of the most vulnerable populations among them, such as street children, the disabled, and rural indigenous children and adolescents. They also address the causes of alcohol and drug abuse.

See Also:

17. Here Today: Heroin in Vermont Documentary Film - Vermont, USA

EDUTAINMENT ADRESSING SUBSTANCE ABUSE

18. Most United Knowledgeable Artists (MUKA) Project - South Africa
This child- and youth-centred project creates theatre pieces to perform on the streets, in churches, in schools, and in community centres in South Africa. Since MUKA began in 1995, it has developed 10 original plays in addition to introducing theatre to community members as a means of promoting dialogue around the important social issues they face daily. The project has conducted community theatre workshops and discussions on violence, drug abuse, prostitution, rape, HIV/AIDS, and homelessness with various community organisations in South Africa and abroad.
Contact muka.project@gmx.net

19. Taste of Life - Cambodia
Produced by the BBC World Service Trust (WST), Taste of Life is a television drama series set in a Cambodian nursing college and teaching hospital. The drama is supported by a print magazine and both are part of a 3-year multi-format media project to raise awareness and encourage discussion around health issues such as HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health, and maternal and child health. Taste of Life uses entertainment-education to engage viewers while delivering health messages. The stories in the series have also highlighted other social dilemmas considered important to Cambodians including domestic violence, road safety, landmine awareness, drug abuse, human trafficking, and child labour.
Contact Charles Hamilton charles.hamilton@bbcwst.org.kh

20. Suzie and Shafa Show - Namibia
The Suzie and Shafa Show is a lifestyles variety show created by youth for youth between the ages of 15 and 24. The radio programme airs on the University of Namibia (UNAM) Radio 97.4 FM and can be heard throughout Windhoek. The programmes address different types of lifestyle issues youth face, including: alcohol and drug abuse; dating; date rape; staying healthy; and avoiding and preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and HIV infection.
Contact Mr. Nahum Gorelick nahum@JHUccpnamibia.org

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This issue of The Drum Beat was written by Julie Levy.

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