Buone pratiche per la prevenzione: il progetto Unplugged

[Machine translation] Unplugged is a program based on the Social Influence model, created by a group of European experts as part of the European eu-DAP project. The effectiveness evaluation of the program was conducted through a randomized, cluster-controlled trial, which involved between 2004 and 2007 more than 7000 children aged 12-14 years in seven European countries (Italy, Greece, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Sweden). The experimental evaluation showed that the program reduces the prevalence of use of all the outcomes analyzed. The Prevalence Odds Ratios of use were 0.70 (0.52-0.94) for the “daily smoking” outcome (>20 cigarettes in the last 30 days), 0.72 (0.58-0.90) for sporadic episodes of intoxication (at least once in the last 30 days), 0.69 (0.48-0.99) for regular episodes of intoxication (>3 times in the last 30 days) and 0.77 (0.60-1.00) for sporadic use of cannabis (at least once in the last 30 days). At the one-year follow-up, the effectiveness of the program on cigarette smoking loses statistical significance, but the effect on episodes of drunkenness and cannabis use is maintained and even reinforced. Recent mediation analyses have identified the improvement of resistance skills, the correction of erroneous perceptions of the prevalence of peer use, and the reduction of positive attitudes towards drugs as mediators of the effect: the program reduces the use of substances by modifying these 3 mediators. Following the results of the evaluation, a phase of dissemination has begun in many countries, coordinated by the EuDAP Faculty according to a cascading model in which international trainers are responsible for training national trainers, these in turn local trainers, and finally local teachers. Through various funding, this model has led in Italy to the formation of a network of Unplugged trainers and the implementation of the program in first and second grade secondary schools in many regions. In the 2011-2012 school year, more than 20,000 Italian children received the program. According to the effectiveness data of the European project for the Italian sample alone, the program reduces the proportion of 13-14-year-old children who have been drunk at least once in the last month from 14.7% to 8.9%. By applying the program implementation rate, and adjusting the prevalence based on the most up-to-date regional data, it is possible to estimate how many children did not get drunk even once thanks to Unplugged in that school year. The same can be done for tobacco and cannabis. However, for these estimates to have scientific value, it is essential to maintain continuous monitoring of the application of the program on the territory.