SUBSTANCE USE AND MISUSE

The focus for the Major Essay is the effectiveness of a substance use prevention program of your choice. You should be reasonably specific in framing your question, so that it is clear what type of outcomes you are focusing on. Prevention activities in the substance use field can be referred to as ‘primary’ or ‘secondary’ prevention. Primary prevention programs are focused on preventing the initiation or uptake of substance use (e.g. in school-based drug education). Secondary prevention programs aim to safeguard the health and wellbeing of people who already use substances, by modifying their patterns of substance use or by preventing the harmful consequences of use in other ways. Harm reduction programs, such as needle and syringe programs, can be considered a subset of secondary prevention programs.

The topic:
Opioid substitution therapy is an effective way of reducing mortality in opioid dependent prisoners during their prison sentences and post-release.

When developing your essay, you should consider any specific elements of the prevention program which contribute to or detract from its success. It’s also important to consider the characteristics of the target population, and the extent to which the program is appropriate for the population.

You are required to develop an argument, which directly addresses the question, with the aim of reaching your own conclusion based on the evidence.