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Protocol for a feasibility study investigating the UCalgary's Cannabis Cafe: education and harm reduction initiative for postsecondary students.

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION:High rates of cannabis consumption among emerging adults in Canada represent an important public health issue. As part of the legalisation of cannabis, health objectives were established by the Government of Canada including reducing risky patterns of consumption and cannabis related harm among vulnerable populations. Despite these ambitions, few evidenced based education programmes have been evaluated in the literature. The aim of this study is to describe and evaluate the acceptability of a novel harm reduction and education initiative titled, UCalgary's Cannabis Café. The Cannabis Café incorporates components shown to be effective in reducing risky substance consumption on campuses and substance related stigma. An important objective of the Café is the dissemination of methods to reduce risk in the form of Canada's Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:The study will take the form of a non-experimental, observational cohort design, where participants will be asked to complete four surveys (baseline, immediate follow-up, 1?month and 3?months). The primary outcomes of the study will be the feasibility of the initiative including acceptability and implementation. Secondary outcomes include knowledge uptake of methods to reduce risk of cannabis related harm, descriptive cannabis norms and changes in cannabis consumption. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:The study was approved by the University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board (#REB18-1364). The investigators will develop a guideline outlining the Cannabis Café to assist in the replication of this initiative at other locations and publish the results from the study in a peer-reviewed manuscript.

SUBMITTER: Mader J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7045139 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Protocol for a feasibility study investigating the UCalgary's <i>Cannabis Café</i>: education and harm reduction initiative for postsecondary students.

Mader Joel J Smith Jacqueline M JM Smith Jennifer J Christensen Darren Robert DR

BMJ open 20200212 2

<h4>Introduction</h4>High rates of cannabis consumption among emerging adults in Canada represent an important public health issue. As part of the legalisation of cannabis, health objectives were established by the Government of Canada including reducing risky patterns of consumption and cannabis related harm among vulnerable populations. Despite these ambitions, few evidenced based education programmes have been evaluated in the literature. The aim of this study is to describe and evaluate the ...[more]

PMID: 32051305

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Project description:BackgroundDigital interventions have been identified as a possible tool for reducing the harm caused by illicit drug use among students attending higher education (ie, college students). However, the success of interventions in this area has been hampered by a lack of user involvement and behavior change theory in their design. The My Understanding of Substance use Experiences (MyUSE) project combines a rigorous user-centered design (UCD) methodology and a robust behavioral change framework to develop a digitally delivered harm reduction intervention for illicit drug use among students in higher education.ObjectiveThis project aims to design and develop a digital intervention that targets drug use-related harm among students in higher education.MethodsThe MyUSE project will take place over 3 phases. The first phase was exploratory in nature, involving 3 systematic reviews, a large survey, and student workshops to gather a comprehensive evidence base to guide the project. The second phase is the development stage of the project, involving the use of the Behavior Change Wheel theoretical framework to determine the behavior change techniques of the intervention and the use of the UCD methodology to guide the development of the digital intervention. The third phase is the evaluation stage, whereby the intervention will undergo a 5-stage evaluation process to comprehensively evaluate its impacts.ResultsThe exploratory phase 1 of the MyUSE project was completed in December 2018. Phase 2 is currently underway, and phase 3 is due to begin in September 2020.ConclusionsHigher education institutions (HEIs) are ideally placed to intervene and support students in the area of illicit drug use but are constrained by limited resources. Current digital interventions in this area are sparse and have several weaknesses. The MyUSE project combines a UCD approach with a robust behavior change framework to develop a digitally delivered intervention that is economically viable, effective in changing behavior, usable and acceptable to students, and able to sustain long-term implementation in HEIs.International registered report identifier (irrid)DERR1-10.2196/17829.

Project description:BackgroundAlongside a recent revival in the use of psychedelics in clinical settings, there have been increases in the prevalence of recreational use, with many using psychedelics to deal with difficult emotions or to improve well-being. While clinical research is conducted in carefully controlled settings, this is not necessarily the case for recreational use. In this mixed methods online survey study, we aimed to develop an understanding of frequently used psychedelic harm reduction practices in recreational settings and how their use relates to the psychedelic experience. We also aimed to characterise users' first and most recent psychedelic trips to understand how harm reduction changes with experience.MethodsParticipants (n = 163) recounted their first and most recent psychedelic experience by providing details about the harm reduction practices they employed and completing the Challenging Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and Emotional Breakthrough Inventory (EBI). We also asked open-ended questions for a more in-depth qualitative understanding of their views on psychedelic harm reduction.ResultsUsing ANOVA, we observe greater use of harm reduction practices for participants' most recent versus first psychedelic experience and that use of these practices is positively associated with EBI scores and negatively associated with CEQ scores (particularly for the first experience). Participants engaged in a wide range of harm reduction practices and we provide details of those which are most commonly used and those which are deemed most important by experienced users. Our qualitative analysis indicated that participants were largely positive about psychedelics and many recounted profound positive experiences. While specifics of the drug they were taking was important for aspects of harm reduction, participants largely focused on the importance of ensuring a good "set and setting" for enhancing positive effects.ConclusionsOur research helps us understand how engagement in harm reduction may increase with experience. Our mixed methods data shed light on the perceived importance of different harm reduction practices and examine their association with the psychedelic experience itself. Together, our research has important implications for the development of psychedelic harm reduction advice and provides opportunities for future research to explore the importance of these different practices in more detail.

Dataset Information

Protocol for a feasibility study investigating the UCalgary's Cannabis Cafe: education and harm reduction initiative for postsecondary students.

Publications

Protocol for a feasibility study investigating the UCalgary's <i>Cannabis Café</i>: education and harm reduction initiative for postsecondary students.

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