Project Overview

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While working at the Institute for Community Research (ICR), I worked as a Participatory Action Research Facilitator on a project focused on substance abuse prevention among West Hartford teenagers. This project was a partnership with the West Hartford Substance Abuse Prevention Commission and other key town stakeholders. My work involved running the PAR program and acting as a key member on the town Commission. 

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The PAR project was instigated by a district-wide survey that was administered to teenagers in West Hartford. In that survey, a rise in prescription drug abuse in West Hartford was identified, "which follows a pattern seen in the region and the nation. Reported 30-day prescription drug misuse among high school students increased from 7.9% in 2011 to 10.9% in 2013." (ICR website)

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Methodology 

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This PAR project included the following: 

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• Training a group of volunteer Youth Researchers to conduct in-depth interviews with fellow teens to uncover information on attitudes and behaviors regarding prescription drug abuse and misuse. 

• Training Youth Researchers to write and storyboard a set of PSA-style videos informed by their research. These videos featured Youth Researchers as key actors.  

  • These videos were shown in a Town Hall event as part of the ongoing prevention effort.

  • The ICR Research team, included myself, then developed a health curriculum centered around the videos as discussion starters. I taught this curriculum as a guest teacher in the high school health classes. 

• Working with the Youth Researchers to create a social marketing campaign titled "Lead by Example" - complete with swag and digital/print promotional materials, presented at various community-wide events. 

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​This summary was informed by and adapted from ICR's website. You can read more about the project at their website here. ​​​​

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