Transcript Pompidou Group Conference Families, lifestyles and drugs – reaching families in prevention Programme Abstracts Porto, Portugal, 19 - 20 November 2007

Pompidou Group Conference
Families, lifestyles and drugs –
reaching families in prevention
Programme
Abstracts
Porto, Portugal, 19 - 20 November 2007
The Gorilla in the Cupboard
Joy Barlow
MBE STRADA
(Scottish Training on Drugs and Alcohol)
United Kingdom
Ms. Barlow presented the
importance of involving families
in prevention through socializing
and developing communication
skills program. Interactive
approaches which emphasize
family relations, cohesion and
management play the central
role in effective prevention.
Through early identification and
intervention, effective treatment
and specialist provisions, the
program is working towards its
goal of ameliorating the
situation for families affected by
drug misuse.
Social Marketing focussing on Health
Issues
Prof. Dr. Heiner Barz
Heinrich-Heine Universität
Düsseldorf, Germany
This presentation focused on the
study of effective ways to market
health issues. This marketing was
done through the research of
Social Milieus which are
comprised of groups of like
minded people. The following
indicators were used in order to
research the sentiments of social
milieus: social status, working life
& achievement, leisure time,
lifestyle, further education.
Through the results of this
research, the program is better
able to adapt the makerting of
health issues to specific target
groups.
Effectiveness of Substance Abuse
Prevention
Dr. Anneke Bühler
Institut für Therapieforschung
Munich, Germany
Dr. Bühler’s presentation focused
on the effectiveness of substance
abuse prevention programmes at
different levels. Through the
evaluation of different programmes,
it was concluded that prevention
should always be family-oriented
and interactive programmes are
generally more effective than noninteractive programs. Mass-media
campaigns are not effective alone
but must be paired with other
components such as family-oriented
programmes. The most affective
drug prevention programmes are
those that combine general as well
as specific content and interactive
solutions.
The state of drug prevention in the European
Union – connecting to Families
Gregor Burkhart
European Monitoring Centre for
Drugs and Drug addiction
The presentation featured
European statistics on family
involvement in school based
prevention, both universal and
selective, for varying target
groups. An indicated prevention
for family and schools featured
programs for children in the 810 and 4 -14 age ranges,
psychiatric diagnosis, treatment,
cognitive-behaviouristic
interventions as well as training
programs in educational
techniques for parents. Mass
Media was presented as a good
medium mainly to target family
rather than adolescents and
children.
Support and information – key factors
in involving families in prevention
Machado Caetano
Mr Catano stresses the importance of
informing families about the major
behavioural risks facing their children. He
recommends to use various media to
reach families, especially TV which could
broadcast educational programmes in
prime times. But combating risk
behaviours must necessarily be
combined with improving in families’
socio-economic and cultural conditions.
It requires support and co-operation of
different agencies: schools, authorities,
NGOs, etc. Involving young people in the
community life, using peer groups in
educational process is necessary if we
want to change behaviour patterns of the
young people.
Universal Prevention
Annette Cina
Educational Programme
for Parents (PPP),
Switzerland
Ms. Annete Cina introduced the
3P (Positive Parenting
Programme), developed in
Australia and adapted and
implemented in Switzerland.
The results of the research that
was part of the project showed
that many more parents
consider children problematic
than experts do. At the same
time a lot of parents claim to
have stress with children,
meaning they would need the
help of a specialist, but only one
out of ten would actually go to a
specialist.
Concept for new TV format :
The upcoming Italian Information
Campaign : parents and drugs
Maurizio Coletti
Ministerio della Solidarieta
Sociale
Italy
Mr. Coletti explained the
principles of the Italian annual
TV campaign against drug-use
and the changes it has
witnessed since its inception in
1994. This year the campaign
has redirected its focus onto
adults, particularly parents after
research by the USA National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
indicated the ineffectiveness of
campaigns directed at youth.
The main aim of this new
campaign is to suggest proper
and useful techniques to those
parents who have (or think they
have) children who use or
abuse drugs.
Targeting Vulnerable Groups
Maurizio Coletti
Ministerio della Solidarieta
Sociale
Italy
The presentation outlined some
commonly held beliefs about
drug usage such as drug
misuse is more frequent among
homeless, careless and
deprived young people, children
whose parents use/misuse
drugs, school excluded young
people and early sexually active
young people. Although these
are commonly held beliefs, the
presentation went on to say that
inclusion criteria are not seen a
definitive pre-cursor to
problematic drug use and also
not all young people
experiencing the same factors
became users/abusers. .
21st Century Lifestyles
Mr. Richard Ives
educari
United Kingdom
Mr. Ives emphasized the
need to develop the skills of
evaluation, utilize new
technologies and integrate
the ideas of others. To be
most effective, Mr. Ives
concluded that we must
learn from the past, evaluate
the programmes and ideas
that have been effective and
constantly assess
programmes within the rapid
and constant changes of the
world today.
New Communication Technologies in
Drug Prevention
Antti Järventaus
A-Clinic Foundation
Finland
This presentation provided advice
on how to use new communication
technologies in order to increase the
effectiveness of drug prevention
programs and campaigns. New
technologies allow access at all
times and can be tailored for each
user meeting his or her unique
needs. The presentation highlighted
the many uses the internet can
have, from information sites to reallife social networks. To be effective,
however, Mr. Järventaus stressed
the importance of keeping websites
up-to date and interactive, as well
tailored for the target audience.
Working with Migrant Communities
Karin Knobel
CARITAS
Femmes Tische
Switzerland
Ms. Knobel presented a Swiss
programme FEMMES TISCHE. This
programme brings together people who
raise children to talk about issues around
education, family roles, society and
health. The programme targets women
from migrant communities. The informal
contact, respectful and warm
environment helps to improve the social
network. The meeting takes place at
home of the hostess with 6-8 persons. A
host introduces the subject with a short
video and then manages the
discussions. Thanks to the homen
evironment FEMMES TISCHE reaches
women of all social strata, even those
who do not participate in training
activities traditional.
Families in Mission
Dr Ana Melo
Gabinete Social de Attendimento
à Família in Viana do Castelo
Portugal
Dr. Melo highlighted the
Portuguese programme
Families in Mission, funded by
the Focused Intervention
Programme of the Institute of
Drugs and Drug Addiction. The
Mission’s objective is to
evaluate the efficacy of selective
family-based programmes.
Within this study, the Searching
Family Treasure and Missão C
programmes were presented.
Both initiatives focus on the
family to decrease substance
abuse through three sources,
parents, children and the family
as a whole.
Future of Prevention
Fernando J. F. Mendes
National Institute of Drug Abuse
Portugal
Family structure has changed over the last
decades. Lack of time spend by parents
with family is one of the major factors
contributing to risks which families face
today. Three factors which help to prevent
drug abuse in families: family bonding (love
and attachment), family supervision, family
norms (communicating positive values). A
good family skills programme should
address three areas: family skills, parents’
skills, children’s social skills. Professionals
should take the following 5 As into
consideration while developing good
prevention programme: availability,
accessibility, acceptability, affordability and
adaptability. Convincing parents to
participate in programmes, positive
stimulation, good logistic organization and
well-prepared evaluation were other tips
given by Mr. Mendes.
Universal Prevention
Mieke Vergeer
Communities that Care
The Netherlands
Ms. Vergeer emphasized the
role of professionals working in
projects and their advantages
over voluntaries. Ms. Vergeer
claimed also that the strategies
should be based on research.
Small neighborhoods should be
examined, highest-risk factors
identified and addressed by the
projects. One should not
develop programmes that are
intuitive and are not supported
by theory.