Preventive drug interventions in childhood in Europe

Abstract

Prevention interventions during early childhood are a neglected area in demand reduction, and only in few European regions do programmes exist that are sufficiently structured to offer us a clear and conclusive image regarding possibilities and good practice in this field. The overview of early childhood interventions in Europe presented in this article draws on a) the available international literature, b) information extracted from national reports submitted by the EU Member States to the EMCDDA and c) programme descriptions from this setting, contained in the EMCDDA's recently established information system, EDDRA. By utilising these diverse information sources, it is possible to estimate the European reality in this scarcely researched field. Early childhood interventions –be they in kindergartens or families – are relatively rare in Europe, despite the importance continuously attributed to them in publications on drug prevention. Targeting children in their time of infancy, they often tend to concentrate on children of drug users, without considering the larger populations of children with similar risk profiles. This is probably due to a fixation on experiences and perspectives revealed in treatment settings, instead of using truly preventive approaches. In this article, several approaches used in Europe are presented and discussed. These may serve as starting points for further exchange and innovation corresponding to the holistic needs of public health.