Grey Bruce Public Health has led a Locally Driven Collaborative Project (LDCP) aimed at identifying and enhancing evidence-based strategies for preventing substance use and related harms among Ontario youth. The final LDCP report presents recommendations for improving efforts to prevent and delay substance use amongst youth.

They include implementing upstream interventions – initiated early in a person’s life – to address risk factors, such as adverse childhood experiences/trauma, the social determinants of health, low self-esteem, peer pressure, and lack of a positive school environment, as well as protective factors, such as cultural identity, positive peer influence, and strong social supports, to increase resilience and create supportive communities for youth.

Other recommendations include increasing youth engagement while designing and implementing prevention strategies, exploring opportunities for intersectoral collaboration, and leveraging further opportunities to align public health efforts with existing community-based initiatives.