Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

44% of Canadian secondary students have used alcohol, and 18% have used cannabis in the past 12 months. When alcohol consumption is excessive, it is associated with significant negative outcomes for youth including self-harm, vehicle accidents, substance use disorders, school performance issues and school dropout. The proportion of opioid-related deaths among youth aged 15-24 years has increased substantially over the last 15 years and the pandemic has resulted in a significant worsening of the opioid overdose crisis overall. Canada's Chief Public Health Officer has called for a greater focus on upstream prevention efforts that apply youth- and community-driven approaches and notes the significant success of the Icelandic Prevention Model (IPM). The IPM is a collaborative model that applies an evidence-driven approach and is designed to make "the healthier choice the easier choice" (World Health Organization, Ottawa Charter). Although these collaborative models take a community-driven approach, many do not involve youth-led strategies. Recognizing this gap, we will support partnership development among research experts, policymakers and practitioners to share the latest information on substance use prevention, health promotion, and youth engagement, as well as how to combine these approaches. This will involve the planning and coordination of an event that will support the dissemination of findings related to new innovations and best practices in these areas. This event will be co-designed with young people who are representative of key equity groups. This will be achieved through the meaningful involvement of diverse youth in the design, planning and implementation of the event.