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Substance Use Prevention News Post

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

2024-01-21T01:00:53+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 More2024-01-21T01:00:53+00:00

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

2023-12-20T20:27:32+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 Driving2023-12-20T20:27:32+00:00

Online Training to Help Prevention Professionals Plan Drugged Driving Intervention Strategies

2023-12-20T19:50:39+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 Strategies2023-12-20T19:50:39+00:00

A Guide to Finding Evidence-Based Programs for Substance Use Prevention

2023-11-18T03:03:19+00:00

November 17, 2023, Durham, NC – Substance misuse can have many harmful effects on the health and daily lives of young people; however, decades of research has shown that substance use prevention programs may effectively reduce the risk for substance use in youth and young adults. Some prevention programs have been shown to increase youth or young adults’ skills, knowledge, support, and/or resources to make more healthy, informed decisions about alcohol, drugs, and tobacco use; reduce their intentions to use substances in the future; or positively impact their beliefs about substances and substance use norms. When selecting a substance use prevention [...]

A Guide to Finding Evidence-Based Programs for Substance Use Prevention2023-11-18T03:03:19+00:00

iRT Reflects on the 2023 National Prevention Network Conference

2023-08-31T14:57:19+00:00

August 31, 2023, Durham, NC – iRT President Dr. Janis Kupersmidt and Research Scientist Dr. Rebecca Stelter represented Prevention Central, a division of iRT, at the 2023 National Prevention Network (NPN) Conference in Birmingham, Alabama this month. Prevention professionals, coalition leaders, researchers, and federal partners gather at the NPN Conference each year to discuss recent research and best practices in the field of substance misuse prevention. Prevention Central sponsored an exhibit booth at the 2023 NPN Conference to share its many programs with colleagues, including evidence-based media literacy and mindfulness education programs for the prevention of substance use, safe driving programs, [...]

iRT Reflects on the 2023 National Prevention Network Conference2023-08-31T14:57:19+00:00

iRT Researchers Lead a Session on Substance Misuse for Youth at the Teaming with Teens Event

2023-07-19T17:25:04+00:00

May 22, 2023, Durham, NC – iRT Research Scientists Drs. Alison Parker, Allison Schmidt, and Rebecca Stelter presented at the 2023 Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina Teaming with Teens virtual event on May 6. The Teaming with Teens event brings child welfare professionals, caregivers, youth, and young adults together to discuss topics that impact youth in foster care. The focus of the May event was on substance misuse. As part of the Teaming with Teens event, iRT’s experts led a 2-hour session for youth and young adults entitled “Making Healthy Choices as a Teen/Young Adult.” 230 youth and young [...]

iRT Researchers Lead a Session on Substance Misuse for Youth at the Teaming with Teens Event2023-07-19T17:25:04+00:00

iRT Creates Virtual Reality Scenarios for Plan My Ride to Prevent Impaired and Distracted Driving

2023-02-23T20:50:48+00:00

January 31, 2023, Durham, NC – iRT is dedicated to developing high quality, evidence-based programs for children, teens, and families using emerging technologies. Drs. Rebecca Stelter and Allison Schmidt, research scientists at iRT, are integrating virtual reality (VR) technology into the online safe driving program, Plan My Ride, to provide teens with more immersive ways to learn strategies to prevent impaired and distracted driving. Stelter and Schmidt, Co-Principal Investigators for the Plan My Ride project, have utilized and investigated immersive technologies by attending the 2022 DevLearn Conference & Expo, developing 360-degree videos for safe driving programs, and studying literature regarding the [...]

iRT Creates Virtual Reality Scenarios for Plan My Ride to Prevent Impaired and Distracted Driving2023-02-23T20:50:48+00:00

iRT Scientist Contributes to Chapter on Media Literacy and Smoking in the International Encyclopedia of Media Literacy

2023-07-19T18:04:27+00:00

For more than a decade, scientists at iRT have conducted groundbreaking research on the impact of media literacy education for substance abuse prevention. Recently, Dr. Janis Kupersmidt, an expert on this topic, co-authored a chapter entitled “Media Literacy and Smoking” in the newly-published International Encyclopedia of Media Literacy. The encyclopedia – which is available...

iRT Scientist Contributes to Chapter on Media Literacy and Smoking in the International Encyclopedia of Media Literacy2023-07-19T18:04:27+00:00

Prevention Central Shares Media Literacy Education Strategies In Public Webinar

2023-01-11T21:20:07+00:00

Prevention Central –a division of innovation Research & Training—is committed to sharing its groundbreaking research and development work with the prevention field through conducting monthly webinars led by leading scientists in the field. In the first of these webinars, held in February of 2019, Senior Research Scientist Dr. Tracy Scull presented “Analyzing Media:  A...

Prevention Central Shares Media Literacy Education Strategies In Public Webinar2023-01-11T21:20:07+00:00

iRT Represents Prevention Central Suite At National Anti-Drug Forum

2023-01-11T21:22:13+00:00

Representing a suite of prevention products hosted on the Prevention Central website (www.PreventionCentral.net), researchers from innovation Research & Training (iRT) attended the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) National Leadership Forum in National Harbor, MD, from February 4th to 7th, 2019. Representing a suite of prevention products hosted on the Prevention Central...

iRT Represents Prevention Central Suite At National Anti-Drug Forum2023-01-11T21:22:13+00:00
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