Table of Contents
DUBLIN, Ohio — The Cardinal Health Foundation and Ohio State University have launched a fourth tool kit, the latest version to help reduce prescription drug abuse on college campuses.
To help combat the epidemic, the foundation and the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy have introduced Generation Rx University, the fourth in a series of interactive tool kits.
The kit is designed to help college and university students, faculty and staff across the country educate others about the misconceptions, realities and dangers of prescription drug abuse among 18- to 25-year-olds.
“The Collegiate Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Conference at the Ohio State University generated incredible awareness and enthusiasm to tackle this issue,” stated Dianne Radigan, vice president of community relations at Cardinal Health. “We’re pleased to be able to support schools that are pioneering a concerted effort to prevent prescription drug abuse, and we look forward to collaborating with them again in 2013 to celebrate the results of their work and share best practices.”
Generation Rx University was created by college students for college students and includes discussion-based and performance-based resources to help deliver programs on campuses. The material includes PowerPoint presentations and scripts, facilitator notes, workbooks, handouts and posters to help foster conversation and educate participants.
The kit also includes a guide for creating a reality skit and encourages actors to remain in character for a question-and-answer session following a theatrical performance.
“The average age when prescription drug abuse starts is around 21,” said Ken Hale, the college’s assistant dean for professional and external affairs. “It’s critical that our colleges and universities do more to help prevent this potentially deadly behavior, and this new tool kit is designed to help them do that.”
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that full-time college students ages 18 to 22 were twice as likely as their counterparts who were not full-time students to have used Adderall (a drug prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) nonmedically in the prior year.
And the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy reports at least one study showing that 34% of students at a large university used a prescription stimulant when they felt academic stress, believing that the drug increased reading comprehension, cognition and memory.
Generation Rx University can be found at cardinalhealth.com/generationrx. The original Generation Rx tool kit, a second kit aimed at youth, and another aimed at helping seniors prevent medication misuse can also be found on the site.
