Mapping the Landscape: A Scoping Review of Evaluated Substance Use Harm Reduction Programs for Youth

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Substance Use Education
• Youth Health

Background:

• Youth are highly susceptible to negative consequences of substance use.
• There is a notable lack of evaluated drug education programs for youth in Canada and the United States.
• Harm reduction approaches are crucial for mitigating risks associated with substance use in young populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and synthesize existing literature on evaluated harm reduction substance use education programs for school-aged youth in Canada and the US.
• To assess the current landscape of drug education strategies targeting youth in North America.
• To inform the development of future drug education initiatives incorporating harm reduction principles.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley framework.
• Searches were performed in multiple databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, APA PsycInfo, ERIC, Academic Search Complete, Social Work Abstracts, Embase) for articles published between 2012 and 2025.
• Inclusion criteria were applied to 1912 unique citations, resulting in 20 studies meeting the requirements.

Main Results:

• Only 20 studies met the inclusion criteria, with 18 programs in the US and two in Canada.
• Programs targeted various age groups, including high school, middle school, elementary school, and at-risk youth.
• Most programs (n=16) focused on reducing substance use frequency and employed quantitative evaluation methods (n=16).

Conclusions:

• A significant shortage of evaluated harm reduction programs for school-aged youth exists in Canada and the US.
• The findings underscore the need for more research and development in this area.
• This review provides a foundation for creating and evaluating new drug education strategies that integrate harm reduction principles for young people.