Rx for Addiction and Medication Safety (RAMS-PEER): Evaluation of an Education and Peer Program on Opioid Misuse

• Published in: Preventing chronic disease Vol. 17; p. E37
• Main Authors: Sun, Tianyu, Buchanan, Ashley L., Bratberg, Jeffrey P., Patry, Emily, Matson, Kelly L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 21.05.2020
• Series: Peer Reviewed
• Subjects: Addictions; Adolescent; Brief; Curricula; Drug overdose; Drug withdrawal; Education; Female; Health Education - standards; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Intervention; Knowledge; Male; Mental health; Narcotics; Opioid-Related Disorders - prevention & control; Pain; Peer Group; Pharmacy; Prescription drugs; Program Evaluation; Rhode Island; Secondary schools; Students; Students - psychology; Students - statistics & numerical data; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; Rhode Island; United States > US
• ISSN: 1545-1151; 1545-1151
• DOI: 10.5888/pcd17.190380

The Rx (prescription) for Addiction and Medication Safety (RAMS) program was developed during the 2017 through 2018 academic year to educate students from 6 selected Rhode Island public high schools about opioid misuse, overdose, and recovery. During 2016, 3 schools participated in the RAMS program and returned for RAMS-PEER in 2017; 3 schools were newly recruited in 2016. Tenth graders returned from schools that participated during RAMS in 2016, and all ninth graders were new. Our study's aim was to evaluate the overall effect and spillover benefit of the RAMS-PEER intervention from tenth to ninth graders by surveying students both before and after the education program. Survey questions were modified from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the 2015 Ontario Study Survey. Student responses were matched for preintervention and postintervention analysis using a unique identifier. We observed an improvement in knowledge of opioid misuse; however, we found no evidence of a significant spillover benefit.