[Drugs and health. 1. An experience with health education in a scholastic environment]

Abstract

The paper describes the aim and the realization of a health education project on "Drugs and Health". The scheme was undertaken by the Hygiene Institute of the University of Padua, at the request of the ULSS (Local Health Unit) n. 31, of Adria (Rovigo), and it was directed to the teachers of the local "Grammar School" and indirectly also to the pupils and their families. At the end of the training programme, the teachers did not only learn the fundamental concepts on drugs and their correct use, but were also able in their turn to spread the acquired knowledge. During the six sessions, in which the project was divided, various aspects of the problems were studied. An active methodology was used: at the beginning a questionnaire was distributed, then the main subject was treated and finally the answers to the questionnaires were discussed. The meetings with the teachers and the pupils were organized in the same way. The subjects of the meetings were the following: 1st meeting: "What do I know about drugs?" 2nd meeting: "How do I use drugs?" 3rd meeting: "Do I use drugs correctly?" 4th meeting: "Why don't I use drugs properly?" 5th meeting: "Consequences of improper use of drugs" 6th meeting: "How can I improve my approach to the use of drugs?" Ten teachers of different disciplines, each responsible for a class of about 25 pupils, attended the meetings. All the teachers agreed to apply the proposed methodology to their classes. This methodology enabled both teachers and pupils to identify wrong concepts, or incorrect usage, autonomously. An important number of pupils have benefited from the educational project. Moreover, as part of health education scheme, a questionnaire on the domestic presence, use, conservation, and disposal of drugs was distributed to a number of pupils to involve their families. The results of this survey will be described in another paper.