Evaluation of the program for the universal prevention of substance use and sexual risk behaviours in the university population “en plenas facultades”
a quasi-experimental study
Abstract
Background: The use of alcohol and other drugs in youth has adverse health effects, and it is also associated with unsafe sexual practices. For this reason, it is important to include prevention programs in universities regarding alcohol, drugs, and safe sexual practices, and it is essential to evaluate them to prove their effectiveness in the target population. The aim of the study was to evaluate “En Plenas Facultades”, a prevention program of substance use and Sexual Risk Behaviours, analysing both the results obtained and the process, in the seven universities of Spain where it is implemented.
Methods: An evaluation of the process and results of “En plenas facultades” program has been carried out through different quasi-experimental designs in four academic years, from the 2016/2017 to the 2019/2020 academic year. Participants from each course and from the 7 universities who joined the program during these four academic years were included (average of 270 participants per academic year). To evaluate the results a pre-post quasi-experimental study was designed, where participants were asked to answer a questionnaire before and after their participation in the program. For the evaluation of the program implementation process, exhaustiveness, coverage, and training’s satisfaction were analyzed. For data analysis, absolute and relative frequencies, and means with their confidence intervals were calculated.
Results: In seven Spanish universities, “En plenas facultades” trainings increased students’ knowledge in the subject of drug abuse and risky sexual behaviors. People went from a score of 5.29 (95%CI: 5.02-5.57), out of 9, to 7.31 (95%CI 7.13-7.48) in the 2019/2020 academic year. Around 80% of participants ended up being health agents. In the 2019/2020 academic year, the score of global training’s satisfaction was 4.24 (95%CI: 4.10-4.38) points out of 5.
Conclusions: The preventive program “En plenas facultades” increases participants’ knowledge in subjects of drug abuse and risky sexual behaviors. Moreover, a high proportion of participants become health agents when the training finishes.
