Wijs met Winst
On a daily basis, professionals and volunteers across Rotterdam educate young people about substance use and other potentially addictive behaviours. Their efforts contribute to preventing or reducing the use of alcohol, nicotine and drugs, as well as problematic social media use and gaming. Local decision-makers in schools, the police, welfare organisations and the municipality determine which interventions are implemented. However, it is not always clear on what basis decisions are made. The Municipality of Rotterdam considers it important that prevention activities in the city are effective. Unfortunately, these activities are not always based on sound theoretical principles, or evidence of their effectiveness may be lacking. Examples include one-off educational sessions, often delivered by lived-experience experts or sometimes by organisations without local ties. This can lead to unintended negative effects and a waste of resources. At the same time, it is important to recognise that many organisations in Rotterdam do successfully connect and collaborate to provide young people with well-founded preventive interventions.
Why effective prevention matters
The Wijs met Winst project aims to develop an intervention strategy designed to increase the acceptance (adoption) and implementation of a systematic approach to preventing substance use among adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 23. The project focuses on decision-makers within stakeholder organisations across Rotterdam, including local government, education, justice and welfare organisations. Ultimately, the intervention strategy should lead to the implementation of well-founded and effective prevention programmes that are appropriate for the age and developmental stage of the young people they are intended to reach.
What do decision-makers need to make well-informed choices?
To investigate what decision-makers and policymakers need to make well-informed choices, we spoke with them through interviews and a co-creation session. In total, interviews were conducted with ten experts from the education, justice, welfare and local government sectors. Five professionals participated in a co-creation session, all of whom were involved in decision-making about substance-use prevention.
This e-book is intended for everyone involved in decisions about substance-use prevention for young people under the age of 23 in Rotterdam. It may also be of interest to people who do not make the final decisions themselves but are involved in, or encounter the decision-making process surrounding substance-use prevention among young people.