LWL Für die Menschen. Für Westfalen-Lippe

The misuse of alcohol is widespread in Slovenia and the population is far too tolerant to the issue. Most of adults consume alcohol (The Public opinion Survey in Slovenia, 1999, found 63,6 % of moderate drinkers; CINDI survey With health-related lifestyle, 2001, found 71,4 % of moderate drinkers), almost a quarter drink alcohol in excessive way (The Public opinion Survey in Slovenia, 1999, found 21,4 % excessive drinkers; CINDI survey With health-related lifestyle, 2001, found 13,4 % excessive drinkers), one half gets drunk at least once a year, around 11 % of adults are already addicted to alcohol. According the Public opinion Survey was estimated that every 5th men and every 25th women  are addicted from alcohol in Slovenia.
The ESPAD 2003 (European survey on the use of alcohol and other drugs among secondary-school) implemented among 15 and 16 years old pupils shows that were drunk at least once a year 77 %  of boys and 62 %  of girls. In accordance with the ESPAD 2007 drank alcohol 87 % of slovene youth in the last year and 43 % were drunk in the last year, what is above the average international research.
HBSC Research 2006 implemented among primary-school childrens (11, 13, 15 years) shows that 65 % of them drink alcoholic drinks and that the average age at first drinking alcohol was 13,3 years.
The researches show that the alcohol is the most widespread drug among adolescents and that consumption of alcohol among secondary school youth keeps growing (data comparison for 1995 – 14,1 % , 2003 – 25,2 % of regularly drinkers).

The consequences of alcohol misuse are shown in different fields, from social, health to legislative: families broken apart, suffering children, absenteeism from work, financial trouble, working accidents, car accidents, criminal acts,...
A social burden coused by alcohol use is 3-5 % of gross domestic product (BDP). The consequences are not limited only to a user, but to the group of people, a whole society.
The results of an ESPAD survey in Slovenia have shown how a program for prevention and reduction of alcohol use among youth is necessary in order to move the early starts in to an adult age. This is even more important as also to include as younger children as possible into a preventive program as a respond to the result of an ESPAD survey that the first contact with alcohol was moved into the early age. 

Target Group

• The target group are:
  Pupils of primary and secondary schools (some classes),
  Adults (parents, teachers, advisers in schools, health workers).

 
Setting

• The place of an implementation of project are some classes in primary and secondary schools.
• The access to the target groups have been through schools and their employees and also through health workers , which have been educated on a seminar and that have implemented a prevention workshops in classes and the parents meetings.

 
Intervention/Interfaces

• A project bases on selective prevention – it's about a specific population, that is threatened by alcohol (pupils from primary schools and adults), but also an indicatory prevention, because it covers the population that already uses the alcohol (pupils from secondary schools and adults). 
• The specialists from the field of health, education and health promotion are overlaped.

 
Partners/Cooperation

• The partners are schools, school's advisory services and health centres that have intervented to the goal population (pupils, parents).
• Through the workshops and educative programmes the goal population was directed towards other possible partners as the personal doctor, social work servises,…
• There is no participation  agreement, but each contractor of educational seminar has got the certificate after the education.
• The results were good when all the parties were connected and have participated so that they had a constant contact with target population.

 
Objectives of the project

• 1st structural goal: to motivate schools to participate in project
• 2nd structural goal: the education of the educators – school workers to implement a program at schools
• 3rd structural goal: to reach a wide circle of parents through the motivation of the employees at school
• 4th behaviour goal: through the workshops
  
  • To offer the parents basic information about alcohol, the prevalence of usage, how to recognize adolescent that reaches for alcohol and the advice how to act in case of trouble
  • To encourage young (pupils), not to reach for alcohol and drugs

Theoretical Background

• The preventional content is exactly indicated in the section »Which topics/contents are worked out with the target group«.

• The program uses psycho-educative approach : education on the seminar, education through the workshops, work sheets, role play, playing the drama act or wiev and discussion of a movie Give forward.

• Bibliographical references made in the conception:

- Anderson P., Lehto J. Evaluation and monitoring of action on alcohol.Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, 1995.
- Čebašek Travnik Z. Mladostniki in alkohol.(Youth and Alcohol) In:Kastelic A.ur.Zloraba drog.(Drug abuse) Ljubljana: Rokus d.o.o., 1992
- Harkin A.M., Andreson P., Goos C. Smoking, drinking and drug taking in the European region.Copenhagen: Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco Programme, WHO Regional Office for Europe, 1997.
- Hibell B., Andersson B., Bjarnason T., Kokkevi A., Morhan M., Narusk A., Stergar E. The 1995 ESPAD report. Alcohol and Other Drug Use Among Students in 26 European countries.Stockholm: The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and OtherDrugs (CAN), The Pompidou Group at the Council of Europe, 1997.
- Stergar E. Razširjenost kajenja in pitja alkoholnih pijač med slovenskimi mladostniki.(Prevalence of smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages between Slovene  youth) In: Dolenc P., Acetto R.: Zbornik V.strokovnega sestanka sekcije za arterijsko hipertenzijo. Maribor, 20.in 21.9.1996: 33-41
- Tomori M. Problematično pitje v adolescenci – možna napoved sindroma odvisnosti od alkohola. (Problematic drinking in adolescence – possible prediction of alcohol dependence syndrome) Ljubljana: Viceversa. Slovenske psihiatrične publikacije. Republiški kolegij za psihiatrijo, 1995.
- Ziherl S. Kako se upremo alkoholu?(How to resist alcohol?) Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1989

 
Legal Background

• The main tool of the alcohol politics at the national level is Act Restricting the Use of Alcohol (ZOPA), adopted on January 28th 2003, which provides measures and ways to restrict  the usage of alcohol and measures for preventing harmful consequences of alcohol use – forbids sale and consumption of alcohol drinks under the age of 18.
• The Protection of Public Order Act (ZJRM-1) – 21th Article forbids presence in discotheques,clubs and pubs where alcohol drinks are sold for children under the age of 16 between midnight and 5.00 a.m. (permitted only if companied by an adult guardian).
• Media Act (ZMed) – forbids advertising of alcohol drinks.
• Act Restricting the Use of Alcohol (ZOPA) covers the determinates which reduce harmful consequences of alcohol use and allows the access to the target population:
  • Monitoring of alcohol use and the range of harmful consequences.
  • Informing, education and awareness of public about the harmful consequences of alcohol use.
  • Coordination of activities for early detection of persons with alcohol problems and their integration into the prevention programmes.

 
Method/Measure

• Education of the educators
• Implementation of program at schools:
  • Informing of the school employers about a program and the way of implementation
  • Talking about alcohol, making of posters, workshops, encouraging the healthy way of life habits
  • Parent informing
  • Talking inside family
• Designing and distribution of brochures, manuals, posters

Topics worked out with target group

• Content for the teachers:

1. information about alcohol – facts and mistakes about alcohol
2. how to react when you collide with an alcohol problem at pupils
3. directions for workshop implementation, talking. 

• Content for parents:

1. A possibility of preventive acting inside family (an adult rolemodel)
2. Talking – family talk
3. Meaning of active freetime
4. When, how and why to react

• Content for pupils:

1. recognizing signs of drunkenness
2. recognizing causes of reaching for alcohol
3. encouraging habits for healthy life
4. directing towards positive goals
5. enforcing of inner strength for not reaching for alcohol or later reaching for alcohol
6. recognizing and forming position considering alcohol
7. motivation of critical thinking and own responsibility.

 
Gender Aspect

• No gender aspect
  

Migration/Religious Aspects

• Not specific

Participation

• The alcohol prevention in this project is our common task, because it include all the important persons that are connected to young.
• The target group has been encouraged in taking responsibility and using their potentials in alcohol prevention. 

Public Relations

• In meetings of Healthy school projects, ran by the Health ministry, there are many iniciatives for continuing the project in schools regularly.
• Institutes for Health Protection (educator of educators in schools) around Slovenia continuately contact schools, send them materials and evaluational questionares with purpose of continuate work.
• The promotional materials are posters, manuals and brochures.

Structure/Time table

• In meetings of Healthy school projects, ran by the Health ministry, there are many iniciatives for continuing the project in schools regularly.
  Institutes for Health Protection (educator of educators in schools) around Slovenia continuately contact schools, send them materials and evaluational questionares with purpose of continuate work.

  The promotional materials are posters, manuals and brochures.
   

Substainability

• The evaluation based on the evaluation of educators shows that best results come from the continuing cooperation of all (schools, parents, pupils).
• If Ministry of Education classifies the project as the national program, we could achieve lasting effects in wider population.
  

Cost Schedule

• There are no data on expected or actual costs. The Ministry of health has given for the project  15.648,00 EUR  which was enough for formation of the program and implementation of it for one school year (2003/2004). The following finantial construction was taken over by the different municipalities, which is based on the voluntary level.

  In case of being the national program, the financing would be permanently set, what would provide lasting effects.
   

Staff

• The project was made by the 3 persons in Institute for Public Health (IVZ). After that another one come in from Institutes for Health Protection (ZZV) for each region. Those educated the school employees and the health center employees. There were 409 users in the first year of program (teachers, school advisers, health workers) who were on seminar for educators. Through them their co-workers and parents at 170 primary schools, 26 secondary schools and 4 hostels (school child home) were educated. We estimate, basing on the evaluation report that there were at least 15.200 pupil participants and at least 7.050 families.
  
  

 Qualification of Staff

• The developers of the project are experts in the fields of medicine, psychiatry and psychology and have many years of experience in the health promotion and healthy lifestyle in different institutions in Slovenia.
• The educators of educators in schools have the same level of formal education and are employed at Instituts for Health Protection (ZZV).
• The educators at primary and secondary schools that implement workshops are formaly teachers or social science experts (social workers, psychologists,…). Those are included into Healthy schools project in which they are additionally educated and cooperate in different projects in field of health promotion. 
   

 Quality Assurances

• The program was well excepted by the participants of the seminar. The knowledge and information and materials that they got enable them quality work with pupils.
• Continuous work on the program and including key persons allows us to work on changing the views to alcohol and getting skills for handling the alcohol.
• More than ¾ of schools, that went through a program in 2003/2004, evaluated that influence of changing  the views to alcohol and the behaviour of pupils and they wish for this program to run in future.
• Schools evaluated the program with grade 4,6 out of 5 and the materials for implementation of program with grade 4,5 out of 5 in the school year 2003/2004.
• The effects of a program was measured through:
  • number of participants – participation was good, in the first year (2003/2004) there were 409 numbers from schools, health centres and others
  • contentment of participants – the first year the participants positively evaluated a program organisation, content and usefulness for their work through questionnaire  (average with grade 5 and more out of 6). Most participants came to the seminar as their own wish as well as because of the need in the work field. Most of them would recommend the program co-workers.
  • Evaluation of the program at schools – based on the evaluational questionnaire, that we sent to schools at the end of a school year.
• About 40 % of schools began with a program in 2003/2004. All the results have shown the expected goals.
  

Documentation/Evaluation

• The project documentation:
  • the questionnaire for the seminar participants (educators at schools)
  • the evaluational questionnaire that schools answered at the end of the school year. With it we evaluated activities at schools, parent's responses, pupil and teacher responses and school adviser responses. That is how we estimated the success of a program.

• The basic goals of the program were measurable partly:
  • the goal to educate and motivate school workers for implementing the program at schools is measurable by the number of participants and their satisfaction expressed in evaluational questionnaire
  • the goal to cover wider range of parents, to offer them the basic information about alcohol and the consequences of harmful use of alcohol, how to recognize an adolescent using alcohol, advice on reactions in case of problems, all that is measurable by the number of participants and by their contentment expressed in questionnaire
  • the goal of developing positive values was not measured, there were only the ratings of educators that have noticed the changes there where the project runs continuously and where all the important others are included
  • the goal to encourage young not to start reaching for alcohol was not measured, but by the educators there are noticable changes where the project.