Can a program for Grade 7 students help end the opioid crisis? The answer is yes, according to compelling research findings on school-based primary prevention interventions.

As noted by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, the opioid crisis is “a complex public health issue devastating the lives of many Canadians and their families who are experiencing accidental overdose or death from opioids.”

To address this crisis, many of Canada’s responses to the opioid crisis still focus downstream on adults, after problems have started or become entrenched. In contrast, primary prevention operates upstream in childhood — before most young people start engaging in substance use, misuse or experimentation.

As researchers concerned with helping children avoid opioid misuse, we conducted a systematic review of prevention programs designed for this purpose. We found two programs that stood out for their success in preventing opioid misuse. Both were delivered to children in middle school and tested using rigorous evaluation methods, namely, randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

The program Strengthening Families significantly reduced prescription opioid misuse among young people in Iowa and Pennsylvania, with benefits lasting up to 14 years after the program ended. The impact was also large, reducing misuse by 65 per cent.

Project PATHS, the other successful program which was delivered in Hong Kong, significantly reduced heroin use with benefits lasting up to two years later. And each time these programs prevented a young person from misusing opioids, they potentially saved a........

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