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Primary Prevention is planned process which
aims to promote health by empowering people with the necessary
resources to confront stressful life situations before they
occur. It means avoidance of something from occurring, to
keep from happening, to anticipate or counter in advance.
Prevention strategies are targeted towards educating people,
to enhance their life skills, educating them on the causes
and effects of drug abuse and providing alternatives to drug
abuse.
Rationale
• Prevention promotes healthy individuals and consequently
eases the burden on costly treatment demands.
• Prevention helps save individuals and families from
the ramifications of drug abuse
• Prevention enables individuals and families to engage
in more rewarding and productive pursuits
LEVELS OF PREVENTION
Universal Prevention
• Addresses entire population
• National, local community, school etc
Selective Prevention
• Children of drug addicts
• Dropouts
• Teenagers (students who are failing academically)
Indicated Prevention
• People showing warning signs
• Pattern of non-chemical addiction is pervasive
Prevention Targets
GOALS OF PREVENTION
• Disseminating correct and up-to-date information through
education.
• Developing awareness skills to target groups.
• Developing life skills such as self-awareness, self-esteem,
self-discipline, decision making, problem solving and interpersonal
skills.
• Developing responsibility for a larger group such
as young people, family, community and society.
• Developing a life style that can be role model for
others to emulate.
• Offering early screening, diagnosing and evaluation
strategies based on known causes of harmful conditions.
• Developing legislations and public policies sensitive
to human needs and supportive of healthy lifestyle.
STRATEGIES ON PREVENTION
ADOPTED BY SUNNY TRUST
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
A community can be as simple as few people who think of themselves
as “us” and who have some common interests concern
or activities. To be effective, people in the group should
be encouraged to recognize that they have some interests in
tackling a specific problem together and in developing and
implementing a response
MASS MEDIA
The quickest form of disseminating information
is through the Mass Media (Print and Electronic). The media
has been effectively used to provide awareness of the dangers
and costs of drug abuse. It may also be used to influence
thinking and to foster changes of attitudes in society. Every
one agrees that the media is a very powerful agent of change.
Is media really playing a sustaining role to drastically minimize
the demand for drugs? It is often said that tobacco and alcohol
could be the gateway to illicit drugs. Just scan some print
and electronic media today. They aggressively advertise smoking
and alcohol, often convincingly glamorizing these products.
It is therefore essential that all those involved in anti-drugs
programs to work out strategies to establish good rapport
with media. Governmental and non-Governmental organizations,
religious bodies, the private sector and other groups involved
in anti-drug programs should arrange to have informal meetings
with media for comprehensive knowledge sharing sessions. Anti
drug personnel must be trained for maximum utilization of
the media and make full use of the whole spectrum of communication
tools….. the internet, television, the radio, video,
newspapers , magazines and posters, animation, graphics in
order to reach every spectrum of target groups whether in
cities, towns, villages etc.
It is essential to be trained in the technique of using animation,
graphics, music, songs, documentaries, plays and cartoons
through the media to drive home the dangers of drug abuse.
Founder and staff members of Sunny trust participated in different
programms on television e.g. Sach tu Yeh Hae, News Morning,
Ramadan Transmission, Main Hon Na, Current affairs and talked
about issue of drug addiction in Pakistan. He along with his
team members gave interviews to different newspapers on drug
addiction. Sunny Trust Printed Booklets, Leaflets, Stickers,
Posters, Brouchers on the drug abuse prevention and distributed
them in different schools, colleges, general public etc.
DRUG EDUCATION IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
The education in schools/colleges consist
of abroad range of concerted activities related to teaching
and learning experiences which tend to maximize opportunities
for the intellectual, emotional, psychological development
of young people. In any country its preventive drug education
programme is the foremost strategy in combating drug abuse
problem. Utmost effort should be given to preventive drug
education in schools because;
• Higher incidence of young drug abuser
• Schools have the captive audience
• Schools are ideally located and equipped to provide
many of cognitive, affective and skill components that are
considered essential for effective prevention
• Schools are link between homes and wider community
through which communication can pass in both directions.
• Schools are micro-communities with in which a wide
variety of educational, environmental and policy strategies
can be implemented.
Staff of sunny trust gave lectures on drug
addiction to different schools and colleges. A brief introduction
about nature of disease is regularly given to students coming
to sunny trust for data collection purpose belonging to different
institutes e.g. Quaid-e Azam University, Shifa College,
Islamabad College for Girls, Burn hall College Abbotabad,
F-7/2 College for Women and Bahria University etc.
FAMILIES
Parents including guardians exert a profound
influence on their children’s lives aside from their
role as breadwinners and providers; they are inevitably looked
upon as role models. The role of parents as primary educators
is recognized and supported by schools by working in partnership
with parents under umbrella of Sunny Trust. Partnership with
parents and community help to integrate consistent and relevant
preventive drug education into home and community. Programs
that are implemented in consultation with parents are not
only more successful, but also empower parents. Families are
primary
socialization source therefore parents are important because
their opinions contribute to community norms about drug use
and community support for effective support for preventive
drug education.
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