The Illicit Project UK: Adaption and implementation of an evidence based schools prevention programme for older adolescents

This is a proposed adaptation and 12-months pilot UK implementation of the Australian Illicit Project. The Illicit Project is a drug harm reduction and prevention programme targeting students aged 15-19. It consists of three 90 min workshops delivered by trained facilitators within a month. In a recent RCT, Students who received The Illicit Project intervention had lower odds of recent weekly binge drinking (OR=0.33, 95% CI: 0.12-0.89), nicotine use (OR=0.80, 95% CI: 0.52-1.23), MDMA use (OR=0.14, 95% CI: 0.02-1.00), cocaine use (OR=0.06, 95% CI: 0.01-0.64) and prescription drug misuse (OR=0.07, 95% CI: 0.01-0.54), over the 12-month follow-up period compared to the active control group. Students in the intervention group maintained higher levels of drug literacy knowledge (b=3.71, 95% CI: 1.86-5.56) and harm reduction and help seeking skills (b=1.55, 95% CI: 0.62-2.48) over the 12 months. There were inconclusive findings showing the intervention impacted monthly cannabis use (OR=0.83, 95% CI: 0.40-1.7) and alcohol-related harms (OR=1.52, 95% CI: 0.62-3.71) over the course of the trial. The focus of the UK research will be cultural adaption, and surface level adaptions to support implementation, with delivery in Autumn term 2024. The research includes a 3 month follow-up (above outcomes). Implementation will be evaluated using the RE-AIM framework. Pending successful implementation, we will apply for Phase 3 funding under the same scheme (Autumn 2024) to support upscaling. We will apply separately for NIHR funding to assess programme effectiveness (RCT).