Results from a national evaluation of a £7 million drug prevention initiative for vulnerable young people are published today. The study was conducted by researchers from the Department of Urban Studies and the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow.

The Department of Health funded drug prevention initiative was targeted at some of the most deprived parts of England. Two year's funding was made available to eleven areas from 1998 and a further fifteen areas from 2000. The evaluation aimed to determine whether the initiative had resulted in the expansion of sustainable drug prevention services and to identify models of best practice.

The researchers found that the initiative resulted in the development of more than 150 separate projects and activities. These projects were aiming to reach a variety of groups such as young offenders, young people in pupil referral units, children in care, the children of drug-using parents and young people living in deprived communities. A significant proportion of projects was successful in securing funding from other sources beyond the initial two years.

The study found that in all parts of the country, significant progress has been made in developing appropriate services for vulnerable young people. This was only partly to do with the drug prevention initiative. Other factors such as increased prominence of drug prevention within the government's drugs strategy were identified as important.

Case study work conducted as part of the evaluation identified a range of examples of good practice in reaching vulnerable young people at risk of drug misuse. Individual projects working with specific groups were found to have conducted valuable work at the local level.

One project, for example, targeted the children of drug users in Liverpool. The project realised positive outcomes for the families involved. It provided the young people with an outlet to discuss their parents substance misuse, while learning more about drug-related issues. Improved family dynamics between the children who participated and their parents were also reported.

Another case study examined the impact of drug prevention training for staff working with children in residential care in South Yorkshire. Those staff that had received training were more willing to discuss drugs with the young people in their care and felt more confident in providing appropriate support to young people who had been using drugs.

Findings from this case study also highlighted that as young people in residential units had varying experiences of drug misuse, a single approach to drug prevention in this setting may not be entirely appropriate.

Two further case studies provide examples of good practice in delivering services to other groups: the Asian community in Luton and the parents of problematic drug users in the Sandwell area.

Findings from all four case studies highlight the importance of targeted, tailored drug prevention interventions for vulnerable groups. Given the prevalence of risk factors for drug misuse amongst these young people, and the greater likelihood that they will use illegal drugs at an earlier age, their needs are likely to be different from those of the broader population.

Media Relations Office (media@gla.ac.uk)

For further information please contact:

Dr. Linda Bauld, Department of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow 0141 330 4352, email: L.Bauld@socsci.gla.ac.uk

Judith Hodgson, University of Glasgow Press Office, 0141 330 3535 / 3683/ 8593, email: j.hodgson@admin.gla.ac.uk

Authors:

Linda Bauld and Rachael Butler, Department of Urban Studies University of Glasgow

Gordon Hay and Neil McKeganey, Centre for Drug Misuse Research University of Glasgow

First published: 8 March 2004