Program Planning: University Program Addressing Alcohol and Drug Abuse

This project plan focuses on addressing the increasing prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse in Australia, particularly among adults. The program aims to raise awareness, provide support during withdrawal, and reduce relapse rates through a three-week initiative. It establishes SMART goals, analyzes demographics, and identifies necessary resources, including human resources, stationery, and healthcare equipment. The project involves quantitative and qualitative data collection, a marketing plan utilizing free primary healthcare camps, and emphasizes ethical considerations. The program is designed to be implemented over three weeks, with a focus on surveys, awareness programs, free healthcare check-ups, and introductions to support services. The expected outcomes include improved public health, reduced alcohol-related injuries, and increased awareness, potentially leading to better support for abusers and their families, including access to AA meetings and rehabilitation centers. The budget is estimated at $10,000-$11,000, and the project concludes with surveys to evaluate its effectiveness. The project incorporates references to relevant research and studies on substance abuse.

Program Planning
Student Name
University Name
Student Notes

Aim:
The aim of this program planning is to ensure the proper delivery of accurate information
regarding one of the most increasingly prevalent recent issues of drug and alcohol abuse. The
main goal of the program is to create awareness regarding the visible dependence of majority of
adults on alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (Myers & Kelly, 2006). This program will also try to
help ensure that the abusers get all the support they require during their withdrawal phase and
ensure the reduction and prevention of their relapse rates. This will further ensure the
improvement in the overall health of the abusers in the chosen locality.
SMART Goals:
S: To significantly reduce the dependence of adults on addictive substances like alcohol, tobacco
and drugs.
M: To help with the goal, this program is going to help promote the importance of attending
rehabilitation centres as well as support group meetings in order to help in coping with the
withdrawal symptoms.
A: The program aims to achieve this attainable goal by sponsoring and funding different support
groups and local rehabilitation centres as well as by organising regular AA meetings. The
volunteers of this program will make sure that the addicts are educated about the detrimental
effects of alcohol and drugs on their system and ensure them that they can assist the abusers get
clean and help them throughout the process.
R: This goal is realistic to an extent. The aim of the program can help only a localised section of
the population.

T: The program is three weeks program with AA meetings and educational campaigns to help
the abusers and their family members seek help and guidance in this regard.
S Reduction in alcohol and substance abusers.
M
Promote significance of attending awareness programs,
AA meetings, and rehabilitation centres.
A
Sponsoring and funding rehabilitation ans support
groups.
R
Realistic to an extent. Applies to a localised section - a
chosen neighbourhood.
T
Three weeks program with AA meetings and
educational campaigns.

Introduction:
Australia has seen the rise of the percentage of alcohol and substance abusers in the
recent years (Yusuf & Leeder, 2015). About 1600 Australians were said to die due to accidental
drug overdose in the year 2017. There has been an increase in the users of prescription opioids
and heroin abuse throughout the country (Pinkerton & Hardy, 2017; Sporer & Kral, 2007). Road
accidents, intentional violence and alcohol related crimes have taken a surge in the recent years
(aihw.gov.au, 2016).
However, even though the demographics show both the young adult and the adult
population to be almost equal contributors to this issue, statistics have shown a significant surge
in the addiction of adult male Australian abusers (Manton & Moore, 2016).
Alcohol has different effect on different age groups. This is because, the younger alcohol
addicts have a higher metabolism rate enabling them to take lesser time to break down the
alcohol consumed (Mattick et al., 2018). However, as individuals get older, their body’s ability
to deal with the effects of alcohol reduces significantly due to the decrease in the amount of
muscle in the body and increase in the fat content. This results in the exposure of vital organs
like heart and brain to detrimental and toxic effects of alcohol (Carrara-Nascimento et al., 2017).
Similarly, with the increased dependence in drugs, people have been seen to be exhibiting
changes in their behaviour, drastic effects on their physical appearance, problems in the
workplace as well as leading to a vicious cycle of money issues and drug dependence (Lea &
Webley, 2006). The main reason of concern apart from the detrimental effects of drugs on the
health of an individual is the increased rate of overdose incidences. However, due to the visible

dependence rate of the older population on alcohol, more research has been done on the
treatment processes centred to cure alcohol dependency (Yusuf & Leeder, 2015).
The health impacts of alcohol and drug addiction are as follows:
 Extensive brain and kidney damage.
 Detrimental effects on the immune system and thus, resulting in the increased production
of cancer cells in the body.
 Alcohol is widely known for the effect it has on an addict’s or abuser’s mental health.
Increased dependence in alcohol and drugs have been observed to cause increased
chances of contracting Alzheimer’s or Dementia, resulting in the symptoms like
forgetfulness and confusion, as they age.
Demographics:
Demographics suggest that the male population belonging to higher socio-economic
groups are more prone to alcohol addiction, whereas the female population has been seen to be
more inclined towards the increased dependency of prescription drugs. Studies show that the
older population has been influenced by different social, economic, personal as well as mental
issues, which has led them to grow increasingly dependent and addicted on alcohol as well as
drugs.

Resources Required:
To effectively execute the plan of providing complete assistance to alcohol as well as other
substance abusers:
Human resources –
Stakeholders -
Primary stakeholders: The target population for this plan is the Australian adult population
belonging to the age range of 30 years to 60 years.
Secondary Stakeholders: The secondary stakeholder population for this project plan includes
healthcare professionals like nurses and doctors. This project plan would function smoothly with
the active participation of health educators and social volunteers, who would help raise
awareness about the issue as well as educate the abusers and family members of the abusers
about the detrimental effects of alcohol and drugs on the physical and mental health of abusers as
well as the emotional distress it causes their family members and friends. The project plan would
also require a physician to help with the additional camp set up to provide primary healthcare to
the respondents of the project.
Project Plan:
Quantitative data collection-
Statistics show that majority of the Australian after the age of 14 years are found to be
increasingly addicted to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. In the recent years, accidental deaths
due to excess alcohol consumption or drug overdosing have been observed to have doubled from

2008. The country has been seeing a rise in the opioid and heroin induced deaths (Larance et al.,
2018). The lack of awareness about the risks of mixing opioids with other prescription drugs has
been a major contributor to this issue (Gisev et al., 2016). Thus, this project plan is to educate the
adults about the concerning issue in order to reduce the population of adult abusers as well as
allow them to educate the increasing adolescent abuser population.
In the year 2018, the Australian government funded around $10 million to programs to
make Naloxone accessible to the Australian population, as naloxone is a known to reverse opioid
overdoses (Lenton, Dietze, & Jauncey, 2016).
Qualitative data collection-
Before organising as well as during the 3 weeks of the project, qualitative data collection
via surveys including open ended questionnaires, the initial and final data is required to be
collected. The initial assessment will help in the accurate programme planning incorporating the
required awareness and education programs. The final assessment conducted via surveys would
help understand the effect of the program conducted and the capability of the program to educate
the selected population.
Marketing Plan-
project plan would require an incentivised free primary healthcare camp, to help attract
the target audience, and ensure their participation in the awareness programs (Caffarella &
Daffron, 2013). This can ensure that a larger section of the population will attend the programs
and as a result get educated about the detrimental effects of alcohol and substance abuse
(Caffarella & Daffron, 2013). Primary healthcare services will include health check-ups: free

blood tests, blood pressure check-ups, health counsellors or advisors, and support group and
rehabilitation advertising stalls, in order to help promote the significance of these, within the
selected population and ensure they get the support they require (Tracy & Wallace, 2016). The
project plan would be carried out for 3 consecutive weeks to ensure maximum outreach with a
brief amount of time and with low funding.
Ethical considerations-
It is to be noted that the respondents of the project, have willingly participated in the
process and that no one has been forced to attend the meetings or get primary healthcare check-
ups.
Plan Resources:
Human resources Social volunteers, healthcare professionals
like nurses, doctors and physicians.
Stationery Pen, paper, survey forms, projectors, sound
system etc.
Site Local community hall and its front yard.
The community hall auditorium would be
required for the conduction of the
awareness as well as education programs.
The side rooms within the hall can be used

to set up free check-up stalls.
The front yard can be used to set up
advertisement stalls regarding support
services like rehabilitation centres, AA
meetings and support groups.
Healthcare equipment Body weight scales, thermometer, blood
pressure monitor, syringes, sterilised test
tubes and other containers to collect blood
and urine to detect the usage of drugs.
Recipient Recruitment method:
The target population which would require participating in the surveys and whose
feedback after the programs would be beneficial to understand the success rate of the program
can be done by randomised sampling method. The only target population criterion is adults
ranging between 30 -60 years. This method will help in aiding the qualitative and quantitative
analysis of the significance and success of the program.

Budget:
The project planning would require an estimated amount of $10,000-$11,000. The project
would require to set a minimal fund of about $300 for renting the required amount of sound
systems- speakers and microphones for the educational and awareness programs. For covering
the entire population of the community hall, at least four projector screens are to be required
along with two projectors. For the free healthcare check-ups, about $5000 worth of equipment
and medications would require to be rented. To help promote the project, brochures and leaflets
are to be printed, which would take an estimated amount of $300. The community Hall would
require a rent of about $50/ day.
Time Frame:
This awareness project can be organised for duration of 3 weeks, to ensure that maximum part of
the population is educated in a brief amount of time, which would further reduce the cost of the
overall project.
Week 1
Day 1-3
Day 4-6
The first week of the project was mostly dedicated to distribution of survey forms.
Participants were provided with survey forms including open ended questionnaires.
The answers were evaluated and the participants were recommended to attend the required
awareness and education programs.
Week 2
Day 7-10
The awareness programs were conducted and free healthcare camps were set up.
The participants attended the respective programs and were offered free
healthcare check-ups.

Day 11-13
The free healthcare check-ups continued and test results were shared. The health
consultants provided required advice to the individuals on how they could stop
abusing.
Week 3
Day 14-16
Day 17-19
The free healthcare check-ups, awareness program continued.
The participants were introduced to the staffs of different rehabilitation centres,
and support group meetings of the locality, in order for them to find a suitable
support program.
Sessions for creating awareness and educating the target population continued.
Day 20 & 21 Survey was conducted to evaluate the success of the program.
Expected outcome
The project plan if successful, would make an important contribution to improve the
public health of the community or selected locality (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013). The aim of the
project is to educate the adult abusers and help reduce the amount of alcohol related or
intentional accidental injuries or deaths. This program would also help encourage the adult
population and their family members to promote awareness and educate the young generation
about the hazards of this issue (Lander, Howsare, & Byrne, 2013). This program also would
likely introduce the abusers and their family members to AA meetings, support groups as well as

rehabilitation centres located in the locality. These will thus, help the abusers get the mental and
moral support they deserve during coping with the symptoms associated with the withdrawal
procedures. The program will at the end, reward the attending abusers with sobriety tokens to
help motivate them to do better (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013).

References:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2016). Australia's health 2016. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/australias-health-2016
Caffarella, R. S., & Daffron, S. R. (2013). Planning programs for adult learners: A practical
guide. John Wiley & Sons
Carrara-Nascimento, P. F., Hoffmann, L. B., Contó, M. B., Marcourakis, T., & Camarini, R.
(2017). Ethanol sensitization during adolescence or adulthood induces different patterns
of ethanol consumption without affecting ethanol metabolism. Frontiers in behavioral
neuroscience, 11, 46.
Gisev, N., Pearson, S. A., Blanch, B., Larance, B., Dobbins, T., Larney, S., & Degenhardt, L.
(2016). Initiation of strong prescription opioids in Australia: cohort characteristics and
factors associated with the type of opioid initiated. British journal of clinical
pharmacology, 82(4), 1123-1133.
Lander, L., Howsare, J., & Byrne, M. (2013). The impact of substance use disorders on families
and children: From theory to practice. Social work in public health, 28(3-4), 194-205.
Larance, B., Degenhardt, L., Peacock, A., Gisev, N., Mattick, R., Colledge, S., & Campbell, G.
(2018). Pharmaceutical opioid use and harm in Australia: The need for proactive and
preventative responses. Drug and alcohol review, 37, S203-S205.
Lea, S. E., & Webley, P. (2006). Money as tool, money as drug: The biological psychology of a
strong incentive. Behavioral and brain sciences, 29(2), 161-209.