Samenvatting eupc cursus
Introduction: Why is prevention important?
Health improvements not only enhance individual well-being but also boost
national income by improving education, productivity, and reducing demands on
health and social care systems. According to the WHO, non-communicable
diseases now cause 60 % of global deaths, largely due to environmental,
socioeconomic, industrial, and lifestyle factors such as substance use. This has
led to prevention policies targeting substance use, diet, and physical health.
Health promotion empowers people to choose healthy behaviours, while
prevention delivers specific actions addressing modifiable risk and protective
factors that influence health. Substance use prevention aims to stop or delay
initiation, reduce the risk of developing substance use disorders, and support the
healthy development of young people by fostering positive engagement with
family, school, peers, workplace, and society.
The European Prevention Curriculum applies international quality standards to
European contexts, providing decision-, opinion-, and policy-makers with tools to
inform stakeholders, coordinate and evaluate evidence-based interventions, and
introduce prevention principles across multiple settings.
Here’s the “Why is prevention important?” part from the introduction in
bullet form:
Improves health, which boosts well-being, productivity, and reduces strain
on health and social care systems.
Addresses non-communicable diseases linked to environment,
socioeconomics, industrial practices, and lifestyle choices (including
substance use).
Encourages healthy behaviours through health promotion and targeted
prevention measures.
Complements health promotion by focusing on modifiable risk and
protective factors.
Aims to delay or prevent initiation of substance use, and reduce risk of
developing substance use disorders.
Supports healthy and safe development of young people, enabling them to
reach their potential.
Strengthens positive connections with family, school, peers, workplace,
and society.
Chapter 1: Epidemiology — Understanding the nature
and extent of substance use
Epidemiology studies the distribution, causes, and patterns of health-related
issues to guide prevention. In substance use prevention, it helps identify who is
1
, at risk, what factors contribute to risk, and how to design targeted interventions.
Substance use is influenced by an interplay between individual characteristics
(e.g. genetics, temperament, mental health, sensation seeking), micro-level
environments (e.g. family conflict, poor parental monitoring, negative school
climate, antisocial peers), and macro-level environments (e.g. poverty, social
exclusion, high substance availability, unsafe neighbourhoods).
Risk factors can occur at different levels:
Personal characteristics: impulsivity, poor self-regulation, cognitive
deficits.
Family influences: neglect, harsh parenting, parental substance use.
School influences: low-quality education, poor attendance, lack of
prevention programmes.
Peer influences: association with antisocial peers, exposure to substance
use or violence.
Community and societal influences: poverty, neighbourhood disorder,
easy access to alcohol or drugs, weak social cohesion.
Effective prevention addresses these risks early and strengthens protective
factors such as positive family bonding, educational engagement, and supportive
community norms.
Purpose of epidemiology in prevention
Studies the distribution and determinants of health-related states or
events.
Helps understand patterns, causes, and contributing factors for substance
use.
Guides prevention professionals in designing targeted, evidence-based
interventions.
Examples of risk factors (from Figure 5)
Macro-level influences
Poverty, homelessness, refugee status.
Limited access to healthcare, poor-quality housing, unsafe
neighbourhoods.
High availability of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs.
Social exclusion, discrimination, weak social cohesion.
Micro-level influences
Family – lack of involvement or monitoring, harsh or neglectful parenting,
parental substance use.
School – negative school climate, poor attendance, lack of prevention
programmes or after-school activities.
2
Introduction: Why is prevention important?
Health improvements not only enhance individual well-being but also boost
national income by improving education, productivity, and reducing demands on
health and social care systems. According to the WHO, non-communicable
diseases now cause 60 % of global deaths, largely due to environmental,
socioeconomic, industrial, and lifestyle factors such as substance use. This has
led to prevention policies targeting substance use, diet, and physical health.
Health promotion empowers people to choose healthy behaviours, while
prevention delivers specific actions addressing modifiable risk and protective
factors that influence health. Substance use prevention aims to stop or delay
initiation, reduce the risk of developing substance use disorders, and support the
healthy development of young people by fostering positive engagement with
family, school, peers, workplace, and society.
The European Prevention Curriculum applies international quality standards to
European contexts, providing decision-, opinion-, and policy-makers with tools to
inform stakeholders, coordinate and evaluate evidence-based interventions, and
introduce prevention principles across multiple settings.
Here’s the “Why is prevention important?” part from the introduction in
bullet form:
Improves health, which boosts well-being, productivity, and reduces strain
on health and social care systems.
Addresses non-communicable diseases linked to environment,
socioeconomics, industrial practices, and lifestyle choices (including
substance use).
Encourages healthy behaviours through health promotion and targeted
prevention measures.
Complements health promotion by focusing on modifiable risk and
protective factors.
Aims to delay or prevent initiation of substance use, and reduce risk of
developing substance use disorders.
Supports healthy and safe development of young people, enabling them to
reach their potential.
Strengthens positive connections with family, school, peers, workplace,
and society.
Chapter 1: Epidemiology — Understanding the nature
and extent of substance use
Epidemiology studies the distribution, causes, and patterns of health-related
issues to guide prevention. In substance use prevention, it helps identify who is
1
, at risk, what factors contribute to risk, and how to design targeted interventions.
Substance use is influenced by an interplay between individual characteristics
(e.g. genetics, temperament, mental health, sensation seeking), micro-level
environments (e.g. family conflict, poor parental monitoring, negative school
climate, antisocial peers), and macro-level environments (e.g. poverty, social
exclusion, high substance availability, unsafe neighbourhoods).
Risk factors can occur at different levels:
Personal characteristics: impulsivity, poor self-regulation, cognitive
deficits.
Family influences: neglect, harsh parenting, parental substance use.
School influences: low-quality education, poor attendance, lack of
prevention programmes.
Peer influences: association with antisocial peers, exposure to substance
use or violence.
Community and societal influences: poverty, neighbourhood disorder,
easy access to alcohol or drugs, weak social cohesion.
Effective prevention addresses these risks early and strengthens protective
factors such as positive family bonding, educational engagement, and supportive
community norms.
Purpose of epidemiology in prevention
Studies the distribution and determinants of health-related states or
events.
Helps understand patterns, causes, and contributing factors for substance
use.
Guides prevention professionals in designing targeted, evidence-based
interventions.
Examples of risk factors (from Figure 5)
Macro-level influences
Poverty, homelessness, refugee status.
Limited access to healthcare, poor-quality housing, unsafe
neighbourhoods.
High availability of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs.
Social exclusion, discrimination, weak social cohesion.
Micro-level influences
Family – lack of involvement or monitoring, harsh or neglectful parenting,
parental substance use.
School – negative school climate, poor attendance, lack of prevention
programmes or after-school activities.
2
