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. 2025 Jun 25:7:100414.
doi: 10.1016/j.pecinn.2025.100414. eCollection 2025 Dec.

Co-creating and disseminating substance use and vaping educational videos, question prompt lists, and other resources in partnership with community organizations and youth in Western North Carolina

Betsy Sleath  1   2 , Abena A Adjei  1 , Jeremy Lowery  1 , Mckenna Knock  1 , Bethany Beznos  1 , Delesha M Carpenter  1 , Casey R Tak  3 , Kim James  4 , Michelle Geiser  5 , Nacire Garcia  1   2 , Charles Lee  6
Affiliations

Co-creating and disseminating substance use and vaping educational videos, question prompt lists, and other resources in partnership with community organizations and youth in Western North Carolina

Betsy Sleath et al. PEC Innov. .

Abstract

Objective: To co-design resources to empower youth to ask questions about vaping and substance use and to disseminate the developed materials in Western North Carolina.

Methods: Two youth advisory boards were formed in Western North Carolina in partnership with two community organizations. Focus groups were conducted with youth, parents, and other stakeholders on what resources to design and how to disseminate them. Dissemination utilized a three-pronged approach which included emailing organizations, in-person events, and social media campaigns. Website analytics were measured utilizing Google Analytics. The intrinsic analytics from X and Instagram were also tracked.

Results: Eleven videos about vaping and substance use were developed along with question prompt lists, a trivia game, and a toolkit for use by educators. There were 1175 impressions on X, and the substance use and vaping content posted on Instagram reached 581 accounts during the dissemination period. The substance use and vaping videos were viewed over 500 times during the dissemination period. Over 10,000 students in Western North Carolina were reached through in-person events.

Conclusion: Videos and other resources on the prevention or cessation of substance use and vaping were created and disseminated using a three-pronged approach. The co-designed materials can be used by youth to empower them to ask health care providers, educators, and other adults questions about vaping and substance use.

Innovation: The vaping and substance use resources were developed for youth by youth. The materials were placed on a website where individuals can anonymously go to learn more about these topics.

Keywords: Adolescent; Question prompt lists; Question-asking; Substance use; Toolkit; Vaping; Videos; Youth; trivia game.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Betsy Sleath reports financial support was provided by Dogwood Health Trust. Michelle Geiser reports a relationship with Hope Coalition Corporation that includes: consulting or advisory, employment, and funding grants. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Summary of project development.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Substance use and vaping poster used during dissemination.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Total website users by month after we began disseminating materials in Western North Carolina.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Number of impressions on X by month after we began dissemination in Western North Carolina.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Number of accounts reached on Instagram by month after we began disseminating materials in Western North Carolina.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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