OHIO’s Health Promotion awarded grant to prevent misuse of prescription drugs

Ann Addington is the assistant director for Ohio University’s Health Promotion, which was recently awarded a #PUSHPrevention Community grant from the Prevention Action Alliance.

Health Promotion, an office housed within Ohio University’s Campus Involvement Center, has been awarded a $2,500 #PUSHPrevention Community grant from the Prevention Action Alliance, a statewide organization that promotes healthy lives through the prevention of substance misuse and fosters mental health wellness. 

The grant will be used to support a poster campaign focusing on the misuse of prescription drugs by college students and provide interactive classroom workshops to disseminate information. In addition, prescription drug bag inserts will be made available to the Drugstore at Ohio University. The inserts will include health warnings about the misuse of prescription drugs along with information on how to properly dispose of unwanted medication.  

According to OHIO’s 2017 Healthy Campus Climate Survey, 82 percent of OHIO students report not using another person’s medication for non-medical purposes. 

“These students are in the healthy majority, but we would like to increase that number through innovative prevention efforts,” said Ann Addington, assistant director for Health Promotion. 

Data shows that stimulants are the most misused prescription drugs on campus. Sometimes students will misuse stimulants to cram for tests or study longer to compensate for poor study habits. Research has shown that students who misuse stimulants for this reason have overall lower GPAs. 

The misuse of stimulants can lead to harmful health effects such as increased heart rate, blood pressure and temperature, said Addington. When used recreationally and mixed with alcohol, stimulants mask the effects of alcohol which is a depressant. Too much of any type of depressant will cause vital body organs to shut down and can eventually lead to death.

While the nation is experiencing an opioid crisis, data shows OHIO students are misusing opiate pain relievers at a much lower rate than stimulants. However, one student who overdoses or suffers harm from prescription drug misuse is one too many, said Addington. The average age for the onset of prescription drug misuse is 22, an age when students may be prescribed pain relievers for sports injuries or wisdom teeth removal.  

According to Addington, there is a myth that prescription drugs are safer than street drugs, which is a challenge facing colleges across the nation. The #PUSHPrevention Community grant gives Health Promotion an opportunity to increase prevention efforts and engage students in the classroom with interactive workshops. 

Anyone interested in scheduling a workshop is encouraged to contact Addington at addingto@ohio.edu.

This article was provided by Ohio University’s Campus Involvement Center.