The efficacy and effectiveness of drug and alcohol abuse prevention programmes delivered outside of school settings

This rapid evidence assessment (REA) report summarises evidence-based information on the efficacy and effectiveness of drug and alcohol abuse prevention programmes provided outside of school settings. It pulls together evidence from a range of published literature which includes reviews that seek to identify the key characteristics of successful prevention programmes, and primary research studies that test – to a high standard of evidence – the impact of out-of-school prevention programmes on drug and alcohol use among young people. It has been written for a practitioner audience, with the objective of providing stakeholders with key messages from recent research that can inform the decisions they need to make. This series is part of a process of knowledge transfer and exchange between the HRB and those engaged in developing and implementing responses to problem drug and alcohol use in Ireland. The reviews support drug and alcohol taskforces, service providers and policy makers in using research-based knowledge in their decision making, particularly in regard to their assigned actions in the National Drugs Strategy.