Positive Choices: Evaluation of a national initiative to disseminate evidence-based alcohol and other drug education and wellbeing resources.
Abstract
Title: Positive Choices: Evaluation of a national initiative to disseminate evidence-based alcohol and other drug education and wellbeing resources.
Background: Alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among Australian adolescents continues to be a public health concern, and early use puts young people at higher risk of subsequent negative outcomes. Research shows that both school-based prevention strategies and parenting strategies are effective at reducing AOD use and their related harms. However, such strategies are often not implemented. Positive Choices is a website developed to address this evidence-practice gap by providing school staff, parents, and students with access to evidence-based drug education resources. Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of the Positive Choices website.
Methods: Online questionnaires were administered to school staff and parents/caregivers. The evaluation was guided by the GoodWeb framework which assesses attributes relevant to e-health websites, including appearance, content, ease of use, interactivity, and technical adequacy.
Results: 43 school staff and 53 parents/caregivers completed the online questionnaire. Overall, Positive Choices performed well. Of the website attributes evaluated, appearance was rated highest by participants, followed by ease of use and content, while interactivity was rated lowest. 93% of school staff and 94% of parents were satisfied with Positive Choices and would recommend the portal to a friend or colleague.
Conclusions: Findings from the evaluation of Positive Choices demonstrate that it is effective at disseminating evidence based AOD education resources to school staff and parents. The findings further highlight the important role of online health initiatives for AOD harm reduction.
