Positive Choices drug and alcohol information online portal

  • Research program: Prevention and early intervention
  • Project status: Current
  • Start date: January 2016
  • Expected end date: June 2030
  • Completion date:
  • Funded by: AGDH
  • Lead organisation: University of New South Wales

Positive Choices is an online portal to help school communities access accurate, up-to-date drug education resources and prevention programs.

Research suggests the teenage years are when alcohol and other drug use are first initiated. This highlights the importance of intervening early with young people to prevent drug use uptake and associated harms. School staff and parents can play an important role in protecting young people from drug-related harms and empowering them to make positive choices. Teachers, school counsellors and parents are also the primary sources of contact for young people seeking advice or help for drug use issues, thus it is crucial they are equipped with accurate information and evidence-based harm prevention strategies.

To meet this need, the Australian Government Department of Health funded the development of Positive Choices, an online portal that recognises cultural diversity and provides access to interactive evidence-based drug education resources for school communities. Positive Choices was informed by input from teachers, parents and students across Australia, and was developed in collaboration by researchers from:

Centre of Research Excellence in Mental Health and Substance Use (CREMS)

National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), University of New South Wales

National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University

Name & Contact Details Role Research Program Location
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Professor Steve Allsop
Tel: 61 (0)8 9266 1606
s.allsop@curtin.edu.au
View profile

Chief Investigator

Alcohol policy and strategies

Perth

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Associate Professor Nyanda McBride
Tel: 61 (0)8 9266 1600
n.mcbride@curtin.edu.au
View profile

Chief Investigator

Prevention and early intervention

Perth

  • Chief Investigator: Lexine Stapinski, University of Sydney
  • Chief Investigator: Nicola Newton, University of Sydney
  • Chief Investigator: Catherine Chapman, University of Sydney
  • Chief Investigator: Maree Teesson, University of Sydney

This project aligns with the following Sustainable Development Goals and Targets:

Snijder, M., Lees, B., Ward, J., Stearne, A., Newton, N., C. and Stapinski, L. (2019). Developing an ecological framework of factors associated with substance use and related harms among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: Protocol for a systematic review. BMJ Open, 9, (5), pp. e024418. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024418 [RJ1475] View web page