Effectiveness of a school-based substance use prevention program taught by police officers in Brazil: Two cluster randomized controlled trials of the PROERD

Sanchez, Zila M.; Valente, Juliana Y.; Gusmões, Julia D.; Ferreira‐Junior, Valdemir; Caetano, Sheila C.; Cogo-Moreira, Hugo; Andreoni, Solange

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103413

Cited by 24 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…While the DARE campaign 2 , 3 did involve some drug-related education, its approach was never inclusive or interactive. The same failure has been observed with a Brazilian adaptation of these programs, a project called PROERD (Educational Program for Drug Resistance and Violence) ( Sanchez et al, 2021 ), which has traditionally followed a more combative approach. In sum, none of these programs invite young people to think, judge, evaluate or make their own decisions.…”

Section: Public Policies: Combative Vs Preventive Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 65%

Neuroscience Outside the Box: From the Laboratory to Discussing Drug Abuse at Schools

Vale

Chagas

Pereira

et al. 2022

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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One of the effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic is that low-income countries were pushed further into extreme poverty, exacerbating social inequalities and increasing susceptibility to drug use/abuse in people of all ages. The risks of drug abuse may not be fully understood by all members of society, partly because of the taboo nature of the subject, and partly because of the considerable gap between scientific production/understanding and communication of such knowledge to the public at large. Drug use is a major challenge to social development and a leading cause of school dropout rates worldwide. Some public policies adopted in several countries in recent decades failed to prevent drug use, especially because they focused on imposing combative or coercive measures, investing little or nothing in education and prevention. Here we highlight the role of neuroscience education as a valid approach in drug use education and prevention. We propose building a bridge between schools and scientists by promoting information, student engagement and honest dialogue, and show evidence that public policy regulators should be persuaded to support such science-based education programs in their efforts to effect important positive changes in society.

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Section: Public Policies: Combative Vs Preventive Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 65%

Neuroscience Outside the Box: From the Laboratory to Discussing Drug Abuse at Schools

Vale

Chagas

Pereira

et al. 2022

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In 2019, the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted to assess the preventive PROERD effectiveness regarding its current "Caindo na Real" version, in both curricula (5 th and 7 th grades) in the city of São Paulo. The RCT did not find evidence that PROERD is being effective in reducing drug consumption among students in both age groups, suggesting a review of the curriculum elements that have been implemented with a view to culturally adapting the program to the Brazilian reality 10 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…As previously reported in the introduction, in 2019 two RCTs evaluated the version translated into the Portuguese language of the D.A.R.E.-kiR curriculum, called "PROERD/Caindo na Real" (applied by police officers): an RCT evaluated the curriculum directed at 5 th -grade students and another RCT evaluated the curriculum for 7 th -grade students, both in schools in the city of São Paulo 10 .…”

Section: Intervention Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In total, only two RCTs (one of them with three published articles) evaluated the kiR effect among 5 th -grade students; nine RCTs (15 published articles) evaluated the effect of different program versions aimed at 7 th -8 th -grade students, and one RCT (one published article) evaluated the Mantente Real version directed at 6th-grade Spanish students. It is noteworthy that there is an overlap of articles, because three articles reported the results of the program for 5 th -and 7 th -grade students 8,10,21 . Except for the Brazilian study, no other study evaluated the D.A.R.E.-kiR version, that is, all findings refer program versions different from the one adapted and disseminated by US police officers (version translated and implemented in Brazil by PROERD).…”

Section: Intervention Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The results of the two RCTs that evaluated the kiR version directed at 5th-grade students showed that the program does not seem to be effective in reducing drug use by students 8,10,20 . On the other hand, except for the Brazilian study (PROERD/Caindo na Real), the results of other RCTs (n=8) that evaluated the curriculum for 7 th -8 th -grade students, in the different versions (Mexican/Mexican American, Black/White, multicultural, kiR-Plus, kiR-AE, Mantente Real, Living in 2 Worlds, and kiR for rural areas) showed a positive effect on reducing episodes of alcohol intoxication 33 , use of alcohol 25,26,28,29,31,33 , cigarettes [22][23][24]28,31 , marijuana 22,25,26,28,29 , and other illicit drugs in the last 30 days 26,27 .…”

Section: Evaluated Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A systematic review of the effect of the school-based drug prevention program Keepin’ it REAL: translated and implemented in Brazil by PROERD

Valente

Galvão

Gusmoes

et al. 2022

Ciênc. saúde coletiva

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The Drug Resistance Educational Program (PROERD) is Brazil’s most widespread school-based prevention program; its current curriculum is based on the North American Keepin’ it REAL (kiR) program. There is no evidence of the effectiveness of PROERD in preventing drug use, pointing to the need for further studies to understand these findings. The aim of the study was to synthesis the evidence of the effect of the kiR curriculum (PROERD) through a systematic review. We found 17 studies that reported the effects of different versions of kiR on drug use and/or violence. Except for the Brazilian study, no studies were found that assessed the effect on drug use of the version applied by police officers (DARE-kiR), the same one implemented by PROERD. Favorable evidence of kiR in drug use prevention was found for the 7th-grade curriculum, which contradicts the PROERD’s null-effect results. No international evidence of the effect of kiR was found in the 5th-grade curriculum, in the same line as the PROERD’s study. It is suggested that PROERD’s 7th-grade curriculum should be revised to reflect international results and that the 5th-grade curriculum should be reconsidered in light of the negative international evidence.

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Strategies for enhancing the implementation of school-based policies or practices targeting diet, physical activity, obesity, tobacco or alcohol use

Lee,

O'Brien,

McCrabb

et al. 2024

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

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Effectiveness of a school-based substance use prevention program taught by police officers in Brazil: Two cluster randomized controlled trials of the PROERD

Cited by 24 publications

References 51 publications

Neuroscience Outside the Box: From the Laboratory to Discussing Drug Abuse at Schools

Neuroscience Outside the Box: From the Laboratory to Discussing Drug Abuse at Schools

A systematic review of the effect of the school-based drug prevention program Keepin’ it REAL: translated and implemented in Brazil by PROERD

Strategies for enhancing the implementation of school-based policies or practices targeting diet, physical activity, obesity, tobacco or alcohol use

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