EFFECTS OF A SCHOOL-BASED SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION PROGRAM ON STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA

Authors

  • HJ Renee Tan Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Kajang, 4, Jalan Semenyih, Bandar Kajang, 43000, Selangor
  • Anne Yee Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya
  • Ahmad Hatim Sulaiman Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya
  • Mas Ayu Said Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Mahmoud Danaee Academic Enhancement and Leadership Development Centre (ADeC ). The University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Ahai Chang Lua Center for Drug Analysis, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan

Keywords:

Anti-Drug Education, Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions of Substance Use ( KAP)

Abstract

Background: The rise in substance-use-related problems among Malaysian adolescents called for a study to assess the efficacy of an anti-drug educational program to improve the knowledge, attitude and perception (KAP) of Malaysian students regarding substance use. Methods: This study involved 573 students from four Malaysian Chinese schools in Malacca. Each student filled out a Likert-scale mandarin translated questionnaire (KAP-C) on substance use ( Pre-test). Following an educational program on substance use, the KAP-C questionnaire was given again to the students, immediately following the program (PT 1), and after a month (PT 2) and two months (PT3) of the programme. Results: The students showed improvement in knowledge of the types of substance use in PT 1 (p<0.001),  PT 2 (p<0.001) and PT 3 (p<0.001). The study also showed persistent changes in their attitude towards drug treatment strategies at two months following the program (p < 0.05). Changes were also noted in their attitudes towards harm reduction strategies. Perceptions towards the substance-related problems changed following the module (p=0.001), and remained even after two months (p<0.001). Conclusion: This module effectively changed the KAP of students on substance use.

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Published

2018-06-28

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 1 (2018)

Section

Research article

License

All authors agree that the article, if editorially accepted for publication, shall be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 to allow others to freely access, copy and use research provided the author is correctly attributed, unless otherwise stated. All articles are available online without charge or other barriers to access. However, anyone wishing to reproduce large quantities of an article (250+) should inform the publisher. Any opinion expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not reflect that of the University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.