Addressing the Opioid Epidemic with a K-12 Drug Prevention Curriculum, Website and Toolkit

Opioid overdose has become a large public health crisis with devastating consequences, particularly for young people. Programs have started to address the impact of prevention and education in approaching the issue, but many lack focus on helping students prevent drug misuse by practicing the skills students need to avoid or reduce risky health behaviors. The purpose of this manuscript is to introduce readers to the process of developing skills-based K - 12 Opioid/Rx Use educational lessons. Procedures: The educational lessons were developed using data-driven practice for the following age level clusters; K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. All lessons contain active learning strategies and include a resource bank such that any teacher, administrator, or school personnel can select and deliver a lesson using the online interface.