Using After Action Review to Identify Rapid Response Implementation Strategies for Emerging Drugs Among Youth

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Youth drug use trends evolve rapidly, challenging educators and researchers.
• Existing universal evidence-based interventions (EBIs) may not address emerging drug trends effectively.
• Optimizing EBIs requires responsive implementation strategies for timely adaptation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine past responses to emerging drug trends using After Action Review (AAR).
• To design implementation strategies for rapid school-based responses to emerging drugs.
• To develop a blueprint for enhancing prevention infrastructure within existing systems.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative data collected from 35 participants including educators and health coordinators.
• Employed rapid qualitative and iterative inductive-deductive thematic analysis.
• Utilized After Action Review (AAR) framework focusing on expectations, outcomes, successes, and improvements.

Main Results:

• Three central tenets for rapid response identified: collaboration, readiness, and planning.
• Implementation strategy core functions and tailored options were developed.
• A systematic process for creating an implementation blueprint was established.

Conclusions:

• After Action Review (AAR) is effective for identifying gaps in school-based drug crisis responses.
• Core implementation strategy functions are consistent, but context-specific options benefit health coordinators.
• The developed blueprint enhances prevention infrastructure for rapid responses to emerging drug threats.