Beyond health education: Preventing problematic substance use by enhancing students' well-being

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Organization: Public Health Agency of Canada

Date published: 2019-05-30

What can school communities do? Universal strategies for all students!

Promote well-being

Promoting students' well-being involves increasing protective factors that can reduce risk of problematic substance use.

Provide opportunities for students to engage in positive behaviours (e.g., helping, sharing, donating and volunteering)
Provide opportunities for building skills that support resilience (e.g., social and emotional skills)
Encourage students' sense of hope

Create welcoming environments

The foundation for a welcoming environment includes healthy, supportive relationships and a safe, inclusive school climate that supports all students' well-being.

Apply the Comprehensive School Health Framework to inform school-based efforts to promote well-being
Create safe, inclusive and welcoming learning environments
Partake in anti-oppressive training and incorporate learnings in teaching to create a culture where diversity is expected and respected

Integrate effective programs

There are effective universal school-based programs that can reduce students' risk of problematic substance use by supporting positive youth development.

Connect with organizations that offer positive youth development programs and other resources
Implement positive youth development programs through research and knowledge mobilization opportunities
Try different classroom strategies that support positive youth development

For more information and additional resources, please visit the Preventing Problematic Substance Use through Positive Youth Development project website.

The series of resources includes

Research briefs
Whiteboard videos

Page details

2021-03-09