Hybrid Learning and Prevention Program Reduces Teen Substance Use

Mary Cunningham — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 21:09:45 +0000

Hybrid Learning and Prevention Program Reduces Teen Substance Use Mary Cunningham Thu, 08/18/2022 - 17:09

In This Story

Hybrid school-based programs for preventing substance abuse offer considerable public health potential.

Professor of Global and Community Health Kenneth Griffin

Approximately 90% of adults who meet the criteria for drug addiction started using before they were 18. School-based drug abuse prevention programs can be highly effective in reducing the onset and escalation of substance use, but new strategies are needed to overcome barriers to implementing effective prevention programs, such as reduced classroom time.

A new study from Professor of Global and Community Health Kenneth Griffin shows that a hybrid school-based substance abuse prevention program was effective at reducing multiple forms of substance use among middle school students. Students who received the hybrid prevention program (combining online e-learning modules and in-class sessions) showed significantly less cigarette smoking, e-cigarette and vaping use, excess alcohol use, marijuana use, and prescription drug misuse compared to students who received standard health education.

Major barriers to successful in-class only programs include the amount of class time programs require and the challenge of implementing programs with high levels of fidelity to their original design. The hybrid program effectively addressed both of these barriers.

“Hybrid digital approaches to prevent substance use in adolescents, such as those tested in this study, offer the potential for delivering program content in a time-efficient and standardized manner,” said Griffin. “Additionally, the hybrid approach reserves class time for in-person interactive activities such as small-group discussion and skills practice, which have been shown to be core components of effective prevention programming.”

Students in the hybrid intervention group also reported increased overall health knowledge, skills knowledge, and improvements in life skills including decision-making, coping with anxiety and anger, effective communication, social skills, assertiveness, and conflict resolution.

Twenty-three middle schools across the United States participated in the study. The content for the e-learning program was adapted from the evidence-based Life Skills Training (LST) classroom program. The self-paced e-learning portion efficiently presents information and promotes knowledge acquisition, while in-person class time provided opportunities for the application and practice of the knowledge and skills taught through the online e-learning program.

“Effectiveness of a hybrid digital substance abuse prevention approach combining e-learning and in-person class sessions” was published in Frontiers in Digital Health in August 2022.

This study was funded by the National Institutes on Drug Abuse, and the program was developed by National Health Promotion Associates, where Griffin is currently a consultant. The consulting arrangement has been disclosed and approved.

Topics

Panagiota Kitsantas, PhD

admin_alpha — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:24:01 +0000

Panagiota Kitsantas, PhD admin_alpha Tue, 10/20/2015 - 19:24

Professor, HAP

Contact Information

Email: pkitsant@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-1980

CV

Download Panagiota Kitsantas curriculum vitae (CV) here.

Personal Websites

ORCID

Biography

Dr. Kitsantas is a Professor of Biostatistics/Epidemiology in the Department of Health Administration and Policy (HAP). She has also served as the PhD Program Director in Health Services Research at HAP. Previously, she was the Chair of the Department of Population Health at the Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic �鶹��.

Her research focuses on integrating data science with statistical/epidemiological methods to address health issues in vulnerable populations of women and their children. Dr. Kitsantas is the Principal Investigator of an NIH-funded study examining comorbidities in pregnant Women with prenatal alcohol exposure and adverse birth outcomes. She has also received funding from the Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes Research to study medical cannabis use among pregnant and non-pregnant women of reproductive age. She has authored and co-authored numerous manuscripts on a wide range of topics, including infant feeding practices, childhood obesity, infant mortality, and various other issues related to maternal health.
Dr. Kitsantas teaches courses in health statistics and research methods, with a strong interest in incorporating AI tools into educational practices to enhance student learning.

Research/Scholarship Interests

Substance use and misuse (e.g., e-cigarettes, alcohol, opioids, and cannabis) among pregnant and non-pregnant women of childbearing age and children, particularly among vulnerable populations such as those with disabilities; machine learning applications in population health; artificial intelligence in teaching and learning.

Select Journal Publications

Matarazzo, A.*, Hennekens, C.H., Dunn, J.*, Mejia, M.C., Levine, R.S., & Kitsantas, P. (2025). New clinical and public health challenges: Increasing trends in United States alcohol related mortality. American Journal of Medicine, 138(3), 477-486.

Kitsantas, P., Benson, K.*, Rubenstein, A.*, Mejia, M. C., Levine, R. S., Hennekens, C. H., & Wood, S. K. (2025). Prenatal cannabis use and adverse health outcomes in neonates and early childhood. Pediatrics and neonatology, S1875-9572(24)00229-8. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedneo.2024.11.004

Kitsantas, P., Densley, S.*, Rao, M.*, Sacca, L., Levine, R.S., Hennekens, C.H., & Mejia, M.C. (2024). Increases in drug-related infant mortality in the United States. Journal of Perinatal Medicine, 52(6), 660-664

Kitsantas, P., Aljoudi, S. M.*, & Sacca, L. (2024). Perception of Risk of Harm from Cannabis Use Among Women of Reproductive Age with Disabilities. Cannabis and cannabinoid research, 9(6), e1615–e1622. https://doi.org/10.1089/can.2023.0199

Yang, J.*, Mejia, M.C., Sacca, L., Hennekens, C.H., Kitsantas, P. (Oct 2024). Trends in marijuana use among adolescents in the United States. Pediatric Reports, 16(4):872-879. doi:10.3390/pediatric16040074

Kitsantas, P., & Pursell, S.R. (2024). Are healthcare providers caring for pregnant and postpartum women ready to confront the perinatal cannabis use challenge? American Journal of Perinatology, 41(S 01):e3249-e3254.

Kitsantas, P., Gimm, G., & Aljoudi, S. M*. (2023). Treatment outcomes among pregnant women with cannabis use disorder. Addictive behaviors, 144, 107723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107723

Honors and Awards

Recipient of the Shirley S. Travis Habit of Excellence Award, 2014
Recipient of the College of Health and Human Services Master Teacher Award, 2014
Recipient of the George Mason �鶹�� Teacher of Distinction Award, 2014

Professional Affiliations/Memberships

Member, American College of Epidemiology
Member, American Public Health Association

Degrees

PhD, Statistics, Florida State �鶹��
MS, Statistics, Florida State �鶹��
MS, Health Sciences, James Madison �鶹��
BA, Biology, Queens College of the City �鶹�� of New York