Youth Substance Use Prevention Program

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Objectives

• Prevent and delay substance use in youth and lower experiences of substance use and associated harms into adulthood
• Generate knowledge on the implementation and adaptation of the 10-step Icelandic Prevention Model in Canada including what interventions work, in what ways, and in what contexts

Program partners

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) will work with the following partners to exchange knowledge and support communities:

• Knowledge Development and Exchange Hub for Youth Substance Use Prevention (KDE Hub-YSUP)
• Objective: Build capacity of the funded projects and lead the evaluation of Canada's adaptation of the IPM
• Planet Youth
• Objective: Guide communities through the 10 steps of the IPM and provide support to the KDE Hub-YSUP to capture and support the Canadian experience
• Funded Communities and Organizations
• Working to support prevention of substance related harms among youth

Program structure

YSUPP Stream 1: Incubator and capacity building

Stream 1 recipients may be eligible for Stream 2 funding.

• Objective: Support communities with building capacity to implement the IPM
• Outcomes:
• Local coalition development
• Pre-data collection planning and community engagement
• Identify local funding resources
• Communities and organizations to implement steps 1 to 3 of the Icelandic Prevention Model:
• Step 1: Local coalition identification, development, and capacity building
• Step 2: Funding identification, development, and capacity building
• Step 3: Pre-data collection planning and community engagement

List of funded organizations

• Northern Health Authority, Robson Valley, British Columbia
• Battle River Treaty 6 Health Services, North Battleford, Saskatchewan
• The DAM (Develop, Assist, Mentor), Mississauga, Ontario
• Undercurrent Youth Society, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
• Nuu-chah-nulth Youth Warrior Family Society, Port Alberni, British Columbia
• Peterborough Public Health (PPH), Peterborough, Ontario
• Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit (HNHU), Haldimand and Norfolk Counties, Ontario

YSUPP Stream 2: Implementation and intervention research

• Objective: Support communities to deliver and evaluate interventions identified through real-time, local data and engagement sessions
• Outcomes:
• Local data collection and analysis
• Implementation of actions and interventions
• Knowledge of what interventions work, in what ways and in what contexts
• Communities and organizations to implement steps 4 to 10 of the Icelandic Prevention Model:
• Step 4: Data collection and processing, including data driven diagnostics
• Step 5: Enhancing community participation and engagement
• Step 6: Dissemination of findings
• Step 7: Community goal setting and other organized responses to the findings
• Step 8: Policy and practice alignment
• Step 9: Adolescent immersion in primary prevention environments, activities, and messaging
• Step 10: Reflect on the work that has been completed and build upon this local work by repeating the steps again in a new cycle (on an annual or bi-annual basis)
• Eligible organizations:
• Canadian not-for-profit organizations and coalitions engaged with youth
• Provincial, territorial, regional and municipal governments and agencies
• In addition, organizations must have:
• Confirmed partnership with an academic researcher with experience and expertise in intervention research, for the duration of the project
• Signed agreement with Planet Youth
• Confirmed completion of the first 3 steps of the IPM, prior to the start of the project

Knowledge Development and Exchange (KDE) Hub for Youth Substance Use Prevention

• Outcomes:
• Build the capacity of community-based projects funded through the program to support upstream substance use prevention among youth
• Lead a pan-Canadian Community of Practice
• Capture the Canadian experience and adoption of the IPM by consolidating evaluation results across Stream 1 and 2 funded projects at the pan-Canadian level

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What is the Youth Substance Use Prevention Program?

A community-based funding program designed to help prevent and delay substance use among youth in Canada.

What are we working towards?

Preventing and delaying substance use in youth, and lowering experiences of substance use and associated harms into adulthood.

Generating knowledge on:

• The implementation and adaptation of the IPM in the Canadian context
• What population-level interventions work, in what ways, and in what contexts

YSUPP guiding principles

• Scalable: Support communities to build a strong evidence-informed foundation for continuous expansion and success
• Sustainable: Achieve sustainability through effective and collaborative partnerships at the community level
• Cultural adaptation: Adapt the IPM to reflect the diverse cultural perspectives, practices and values in Canada
• Health equity: Ensure fair and just opportunities for all to attain their highest level of health
• Youth-centred: Engage youth as essential partners to inform action at the community level

Planet Youth

What is Planet Youth?

Planet Youth is an organization based out of Iceland, that supports communities worldwide to adapt and implement a substance use prevention approach called the Icelandic Prevention Model.

What is the Icelandic Prevention Model?

The IPM was developed in Iceland to ensure children and youth have the supports they need to live their best lives. This includes using less alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, experiencing less violence, better mental health, and feeling like they belong. The IPM has been adopted in more than 18 countries and hundreds of cities and towns around the world.

What does the IPM look like in practice?

• Building local coalitions of community members, community-based organizations, policy-makers, researchers, professionals, schools, youth service and health organizations, public health practitioners, and youth
• Conducting youth Surveys every 2 years in schools and providing user-friendly reports to give communities real-time data on youth substance use behaviors and risk and protective factors (things that make it more or less likely for a youth to use substances)
• Community engagement
• Based on local findings, communities design programs and policies that address the risk and protective factors identified in the surveys (for example, parent groups, buses that take kids to activities after school, support for recreational activities, and school-based health promotion activities)

Examples of protective factors for an individual

• Family: spending time with the family
• Peer group: having a supportive groups of friends
• School: feeling safe at school
• Leisure Time: affordable options for activities

The IPM is built on a foundation of 5 guiding principles

1. Society is the patient
2. Meaningful connection is treatment
3. Sustained attention as a treatment
4. Builds community-specific and institution-level capacity for leadership and problem-solving
5. The scope of the solution matches the scope of the problem

10 core steps of the IPM

1. Local coalition identification, development, and capacity building
2. Local funding identification, development, and capacity building
3. Pre-data collection planning and community engagement
4. Data collection and processing, including data driven diagnostics
5. Enhancing community participation and engagement
6. Dissemination of findings
7. Community goal setting and other organized responses to the findings
8. Policy and practice alignment
9. Child and adolescent immersion in primary prevention environments, activities, and messaging
10. Repeat steps 1 to 9 annually

Organization: Nuu-chah-nulth Youth Warrior Family Society, Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Funding amount: $125,000 over 18 months

The project will support the identification and building of a local prevention coalition of diverse sectors and will be guided by the knowledge and teachings of Indigenous communities within Port Alberni and Vancouver Island. The Nuu-chah-nulth Youth Warrior Family Society is an Indigenous-led, non-profit organization that works with local elders and knowledge-keepers to support transformative change within the communities and social environments of Nuu-chah-nulth Nations.

Organization: Northern Health Authority, Robson Valley, British Columbia

Funding amount: $125,000 over 18 months

The project will support establishing an advisory table, selecting a pilot community, and strengthening community engagement through coalition building with partners from diverse sectors. Northern Health Authority delivers health services for the population living across 32 municipalities, including 55 First Nations communities, and Métis and Inuit partners in northern BC.

Organization: Peterborough Public Health, Peterborough, Ontario

Funding amount: $125,000 over 18 months

The project will support establishing a steering committee of youth-serving sectors and mobilizing community members to work upstream to influence risk and protective factors associated with substance use. Through community programs and healthy public policies, Peterborough Public Health (PPH) works to improve the living conditions of those in need for the benefit of all. PPH serves residents throughout the City and County of Peterborough, as well as Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations.

Organization: The DAM (Develop, Assist, Mentor), Mississauga, Ontario

Funding amount: $125,000 over 18 months

The project will support the building of new community coalitions in Meadowvale and Cooksville neighbourhoods, using the Erin Mills Connects collaborative design. In addition, funding will support strengthening relationships with school communities, youth and youth-serving agencies. The DAM is a longstanding grassroots organization that works closely with youth and school communities, providing mentorship and programming to strengthen protective factors and improve the social environment.

Organization: Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit, Haldimand and Norfolk counties, Ontario

Funding amount: $118,900 over 18 months

The project will support community engagement with youth and youth-serving sectors, and develop a community coalition to implement the IPM. The public health unit services rural communities across Haldimand and Norfolk counties, providing a range of health programming and initiatives.

Organization: Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre Inc., North Battleford and surrounding area, Saskatchewan

Funding amount: $125,000 over 18 months

This project will support community engagement and goal-setting amongst youth-serving sectors, and the implementation of the model adapted to the cultural context. Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre Inc. is a prominent First Nations-owned and operated health care organization providing culturally safe health services to promote the physical, mental, social, and spiritual health of the member bands and surrounding area.

Organization: Undercurrent Youth Society, Glace Bay and New Waterford, Nova Scotia

Funding amount: $124,884 over 18 months

The project will support community engagement through the establishment of advisory boards of diverse sectors to identify needs and adapt to the local context of the community. The Undercurrent Youth Society provides community-based programming to strengthen protective factors that promote overall health and well-being among youth.