title: Project northland in Croatia: a community-based adolescent alcohol prevention intervention.
abstract: War and social transition in Croatia have increased unemployment and rates of substance abuse. A decrease in prevention programs places adolescents at an increased risk. Data collected from the 2002 Split Youth Behavior Risk Survey (YRBS) showed that adolescents are at risk for alcohol use and related problems. Thus, there is a need to strengthen primary and secondary prevention activities to empower adolescents and counteract negative societal change. A public health partnership between the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Public Health (UMDNJ-SPH) and Split, Croatia was formed in 2001. Adolescent alcohol prevention was identified as our focus and Project Northland, a model U.S. program, was selected. A strong network of NGOs and government officials support the project. Qualitative evaluation showed strong parent, teacher, and student satisfaction. Preliminary analysis shows a heightened awareness on the part of students that will likely contribute to the overall success of the program.
authors.affiliation: UMDNJ-School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA. abatemdj@umdnj.edu
authors.forename: Diane J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Abatemarco
authors.forename: Bernadette
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Vesna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zec
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Persis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sosiak
authors.forename: Vedran
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mardesic
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D003256:Community Participation / Q000379:methods*; D017523:Croatia; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008297:Male; D015397:Program Evaluation