Characteristics of school-based drug prevention programs in Brazil

Abstract The aim of this study was to identify the main characteristics of school-based drug prevention programs in Brazil and verify whether these interventions apply the prevention principles suggested by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). A cross-sectional study was conducted using a random national sample of 1,151 public and private school managers. The data were collected using an online questionnaire. Poisson regression was used to identify factors associated with the application of a greater number of prevention principles in the programs. The findings showed that programs were generally sporadic, had an average duration of one semester, incorporated different program models, and primarily directed at students. The most active organization in the delivery of programs was the Military Police. Private schools were shown to be 14% more likely to apply more good practice principles than public schools. Furthermore, programs delivered by school staff, health institutions, or departments of education were more likely to apply more prevention principles. Efforts are needed to improve drug prevention practice in Brazilian schools. Our findings show that, overall, school-based drug prevention programs do not apply the NIDA prevention principles.