Public Health Implications: A Scoping Review of Opioid Prevention Programs Among Adolescents

Opioid misuse and its attendant negative consequences remain a public health challenge. This is true among all sectors of the population, and, in the U.S., it has impacted adolescent health in sometimes fatal ways. As a result, the public health sector has sought mechanisms for preventing opioid misuse, with school-based interventions emerging as one of the most viable options for intervening early and effectively. School-based substance use interventions have proven effective when implemented using a repertoire of effective strategies, however, it is unclear if those strategies have been equally effective in combatting adolescent opioid misuse. This scoping review explores school- and community- based intervention programs as well as national public awareness initiatives that support adolescent opioid education. Identification of Evidence-Based Programs (EAP) that target opioid education for adolescents has proven to be most elusive; it is our belief that no such EAP exists. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate current opioid prevention efforts in hopes to determine whether we have the appropriate tools to combat this public health issue.