ARCHIVE--EFFECTIVE YOUTH DRUG ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAMS

This SBIR Phase II project will establish a public-use archive of programs that have demonstrated promise to be Effective in preventing Drug Abuse (tobacco, alcohol, and illegal substances) among youth. The Archive - entitled Archive of Effective Drug Abuse Prevention Programs for Youth - will build on the Program Archive on Sexuality, Health, & Adolescence (PASHA), a highly successful collection of Effective teen pregnancy and teen STD/HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Each program package in the proposed Archive will include everything needed to replicate and re-evaluate the promising program: (1) a complete set of program materials such as Instructor's Manual, workbook, video, etc.; (2) an accompanying evaluation packet for reassessing the effectiveness of the program in a new site; and (3) a User's Guide and multimedia CD-ROM prepared by Archive staff describing the program/evaluation package and providing program implementation guidelines and tips. The investigators will also develop a compendium in book format that describes each archived program package evaluates the state of the field, and explains how to select from the Archive an appropriate program package for review, adaptation, and implementation. In addition, Archive staff will provide purchasers of included programs with free and ongoing technical assistance on program implementation and evaluation. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Drug use, especially among Youth, has plagued this country for decades. Many Drug Abuse prevention programs, with a variety of approaches and assumptions, have been developed and implemented. The products to be created by the proposed project will facilitate cost-effective replication of programs that have the potential of reducing use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs, prevent wasted effort spent "reinventing the wheel"; and encourage ongoing scientific evaluation of programs to ascertain the robustness of each program's effectiveness (or lack thereof) across different study populations. National, indeed global, concern with the problems addressed by the products to be created suggests a widespread demand for these products.