Substance Use Prevention News Post Archives

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Communicate to Stay Safe

Elizabeth Porter2024-11-25T14:19:20+00:00

November 25, 2024, Durham, NC – iRT is dedicated to preventing distracted and impaired driving and helping drivers, prevention professionals, and community members protect themselves and others on the road. Plan My Ride is iRT’s interactive, multimedia, eLearning program developed with and for young drivers to teach safe driving skills to prevent distracted and impaired driving. Unlike other safe driving educational programs, Plan My Ride uses a science-backed and theory-driven approach to change behavior by teaching concrete, practical strategies to avoid impaired and distracted driving, and providing opportunities for young drivers to practice the skills they have learned in 360-degree virtual scenarios. The program [...]

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Communicate to Stay SafeElizabeth Porter2024-11-25T14:19:20+00:00

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Prevent Opioid Use and Driving

Elizabeth Porter2024-10-15T19:21:44+00:00

October 15, 2024, Durham, NC – iRT is dedicated to preventing distracted and impaired driving and helping drivers, prevention professionals, and community members protect themselves and others on the road. Plan My Ride is iRT’s interactive, multimedia, eLearning program developed with and for young drivers to teach safe driving skills to prevent distracted and impaired driving. Unlike other safe driving educational programs, Plan My Ride uses a science-backed and theory-driven approach to change behavior by teaching concrete, practical strategies to avoid impaired and distracted driving, and providing opportunities for young drivers to practice the skills they have learned in 360-degree virtual scenarios. The program [...]

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Prevent Opioid Use and DrivingElizabeth Porter2024-10-15T19:21:44+00:00

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Plan to Avoid Driving High

Elizabeth Porter2024-09-27T20:09:42+00:00

September 27, 2024, Durham, NC – iRT is dedicated to preventing distracted and impaired driving and helping drivers, prevention professionals, and community members protect themselves and others on the road. Plan My Ride is iRT’s interactive, multimedia, eLearning program developed with and for young drivers to teach safe driving skills to prevent distracted and impaired driving. Unlike other safe driving educational programs, Plan My Ride uses a science-backed and theory-driven approach to change behavior by teaching concrete, practical strategies to avoid impaired and distracted driving, and providing opportunities for young drivers to practice the skills they have learned in 360-degree virtual scenarios. The program [...]

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Plan to Avoid Driving HighElizabeth Porter2024-09-27T20:09:42+00:00

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Refuse to Drink and Drive

Elizabeth Porter2024-08-09T17:32:20+00:00

August 09, 2024, Durham, NC – iRT is dedicated to preventing distracted and impaired driving and helping drivers, prevention professionals, and community members protect themselves and others on the road. Plan My Ride is iRT’s interactive, multimedia, eLearning program developed with and for young drivers to teach safe driving skills to prevent distracted and impaired driving. Unlike other safe driving educational programs, Plan My Ride uses a science-backed and theory-driven approach to change behavior by teaching concrete, practical strategies to avoid impaired and distracted driving, and providing opportunities for young drivers to practice the skills they have learned in 360-degree virtual scenarios. The program [...]

Promoting Safe Driving in Teens with Plan My Ride: Refuse to Drink and DriveElizabeth Porter2024-08-09T17:32:20+00:00

New Version of Plan My Ride Available Now

Elizabeth Porter2024-03-15T16:39:30+00:00

March 13, 2024, Durham, NC – iRT is pleased to announce the release of a new version of the Plan My Ride program. Plan My Ride is an interactive, multimedia, eLearning program developed with and for young drivers to teach safe driving skills to prevent distracted and impaired driving. Unlike other safe driving educational programs, Plan My Ride uses a science-backed and theory-driven approach to change behavior by teaching concrete, practical strategies to avoid impaired and distracted driving, and providing opportunities for young drivers to practice the skills learned in 360-degree virtual scenarios. The updated version of Plan My Ride contains [...]

New Version of Plan My Ride Available NowElizabeth Porter2024-03-15T16:39:30+00:00

The State of Substance Use Among Adolescents in the United States

Elizabeth Porter2024-04-22T17:34:38+00:00

March 06, 2024, Durham, NC – As decades of research has shown, trends in adolescent substance use in the United States are constantly evolving. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently published an updated report on findings from the Monitoring the Future research study to share information about recent trends in adolescent substance use. Monitoring the Future is an ongoing research study aimed at examining the drug use related behaviors, attitudes, and values of American adolescents and adults. Since 1975, approximately 50,000 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students are surveyed each year [...]

The State of Substance Use Among Adolescents in the United StatesElizabeth Porter2024-04-22T17:34:38+00:00

iRT President Presents at the 2024 National Mentoring Summit

Elizabeth Porter2024-02-21T15:16:51+00:00

February 13, 2024, Durham, NC – iRT President Dr. Janis Kupersmidt co-led a workshop at the 14th annual National Mentoring Summit in Washington, DC, last month to discuss the need for additional training for mentors who are serving youth impacted by substance misuse. MENTOR hosts mentoring professionals and advocates from across the nation each year during the National Mentoring Summit to share best practices, reflect on recent research and developments, and discuss future directions related to mentoring. iRT’s mentoring experts have been attendees, presenters, and/or exhibitors at the Mentoring Summit every year since the first annual meeting. Continuing our support for [...]

iRT President Presents at the 2024 National Mentoring SummitElizabeth Porter2024-02-21T15:16:51+00:00

Addressing the Nationwide Addiction Crisis with Media Literacy Education, Mentoring, Mindfulness, and More

Elizabeth Porter2024-01-21T01:00:53+00:00

January 17, 2024, Durham, NC – The federal government and medical facilities across the United States have made substantial efforts to impede growth of the national opioid crisis, but trends in substance use have evolved in recent years making it increasingly difficult to thwart the addiction crisis. Updates on the decades-long opioid epidemic and prevention efforts have consistently made headlines as millions of Americans have faced opioid use disorders in the last three years. However, as rates of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl use continue to climb, it is vital to spread awareness of the pervasiveness of polysubstance use, in addition to [...]

Addressing the Nationwide Addiction Crisis with Media Literacy Education, Mentoring, Mindfulness, and MoreElizabeth Porter2024-01-21T01:00:53+00:00

Use the Drugged Driving Essentials Training to Learn About and Prevent Drug-Impaired Driving

Elizabeth Porter2023-12-20T20:27:32+00:00

December 20, 2023, Durham, NC – Many drivers are aware of the dangers of and steps to prevent alcohol-impaired driving due to having completed driver education courses and having been exposed to many public awareness campaigns designed to raise awareness about the risks of drunk driving. However, fewer drivers have received information about the risks of drug-impaired driving, and prevention professionals have reported significant gaps in drugged driving education. The lack of drugged driving training resources for general audiences may contribute to dangerous misconceptions about drugged driving and impact drivers’ decisions related to driving under the influence of drugs. Recent research [...]

Use the Drugged Driving Essentials Training to Learn About and Prevent Drug-Impaired DrivingElizabeth Porter2023-12-20T20:27:32+00:00

Online Training to Help Prevention Professionals Plan Drugged Driving Intervention Strategies

Elizabeth Porter2023-12-20T19:50:39+00:00

December 20, 2023, Durham, NC – Prevention professionals have vital responsibilities to plan and implement interventions to combat the risks of impaired driving and promote public health and safety. Many guides, toolkits, and resources exist to help prevention professionals plan and implement effective strategies to prevent drunk driving; however, prevention professionals are still in need of resources to guide their prevention efforts related to drug-impaired driving. A recent study with prevention professionals from across the U.S. working in areas of substance use prevention and highway safety found that prevention professionals don’t feel confident about implementing interventions to prevent drugged driving in [...]

Online Training to Help Prevention Professionals Plan Drugged Driving Intervention StrategiesElizabeth Porter2023-12-20T19:50:39+00:00