School-Based Substance Misuse Awareness and Prevention Approach

This project describes the Substance Use and Prevention (SUP) program at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSUCOM). Established in 2019, SUP is a medical student-led community outreach initiative focused on increasing health literacy and preventing opioid and e-cigarette misuse among high school students in southeast Michigan. The program leverages interactive, evidence-based presentations developed under faculty guidance, including internists, pediatricians, and pharmacology/toxicology experts to convey medically focused explanations of addiction mechanisms, health consequences and prevention strategies. SUP's peer-to-peer format, in which medical students engage directly with adolescents, is emphasized as a distinctive educational approach that supports both community impact and medical student professional development.

The research employed a non-randomized pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design to evaluate the intervention's effect on student knowledge. Baseline knowledge and demographic factors were assessed via pre-intervention questionnaires, followed by post-intervention assessments to measure changes in understanding and self-reported confidence. Data from 100 students across four high schools demonstrated statistically significant increases in student confidence regarding opioid and e-cigarette knowledge (p < 0.0001 for both substances). Objective improvements were also observed: correct identification of causes of overdose increased from 65% to 78%, recognition of risk factors rose from 21% to 84%, and awareness of naloxone as an emergency treatment improved from 38% to 80% after the intervention. While some measures of e-cigarette knowledge did not change, the authors attribute this to school-specific variances and relatively high baseline knowledge among certain student groups.

The study situates its findings within broader concerns about adolescent substance use, noting that substance use epidemics, particularly opioids and e-cigarettes, represent a major public health crisis for minors. The manuscript references trends showing substantial e-cigarette use among young adults and emphasizes the importance of delivering education before the age at which risk increases. SUP's activities are framed as both preventive and educational: by enhancing adolescents' understanding of how substances affect health and why they lead to addiction, the program aims to motivate informed decision-making and reduce future substance misuse. The initiative also supports medical education goals by providing medical students with opportunities to practice communication, leadership, and community engagement under faculty mentorship. Student leaders organize program logistics, recruit volunteers, and liaise with schools and community partners, contributing to the program's sustainability.

Overall, the SUP program demonstrates that structured, medically informed, interactive outreach can increase adolescents' knowledge and confidence about opioids and e-cigarettes. The study highlights variability across schools likely related to socioeconomic and demographic differences and suggests targeted outreach may be needed to address these disparities. The work underscores the dual benefit of community health education for adolescents and experiential learning for medical students, advocating continued efforts to integrate such programs into broader public health and medical education strategies.