Implications of time and space factors related with youth substance use prevention: a conceptual review and case study of the Icelandic Prevention Model being implemented in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This research examines the implementation of the Icelandic Prevention Model (IPM) in Canada to identify opportunities revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic to re-design our social eco-system to promote wellbeing. This paper has two objectives: 1) to provide a conceptual review of research that applies the bioecological model to youth substance use prevention with a focus on the concepts of time and physical space use and 2) to describe a case study that examines the implementation of the IPM in Canada within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Study data were collected through semi-structured qualitative interviews with key stakeholders involved in implementing the IPM.

Results: Findings are organized within three over-arching themes derived from a thematic analysis: 1) Issues that influence time and space use patterns and youth substance use, 2) Family and community cohesion and influences on developmental context and time use and 3) Opportunities presented by the pandemic that can promote youth wellbeing.

Conclusion: We apply the findings to research on the IPM as well as the pandemic to examine opportunities that may support primary prevention and overall youth wellbeing. We use the concepts of time and space as a foundation to discuss implications for policy and practice going forward.

KEYWORDS:

• Substance use prevention
• COVID-19 pandemic
• Icelandic Prevention Model
• bioecological model
• case study
• qualitative

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the efforts of the Planet Youth Lanark County Steering Committee as well as the Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis in supporting the implementation of the Planet Youth Lanark County initiative and for facilitating the development of this protocol.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study protocol has been approved by the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group Research Ethics Board (#2020011). Ethical approval will be extended to cover the full time frame of the study. Informed consent was received from all participants. All procedures were performed in accordance with relevant guidelines.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research [434257].

Notes on contributors

Tanya Halsall

Dr. Tanya Halsall is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Ottawa's Institute of Mental Health Research at the Royal and an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Carleton University. Her primary research areas are in youth development, evaluation and health promotion. Her specific interests are in participatory methods and ecological approaches that support youth wellbeing and health equity.

Kianna Mahmoud

Kianna Mahmoud is a medical student at Dalhousie University and President of the Dalhousie Black Medical Student Association. Kianna was the founding youth advisor for the Planet Youth Lanark County Steering Committee and has been involved in research examining youth peer support, upstream substance use prevention and health equity.

Srividya N. Iyer

Dr. Srividya Iyer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and an Associate Member in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health at McGill University. She is a licensed psychologist and a Researcher at the Douglas Research Centre. Her work focuses on youth mental health and early intervention. She seeks to ensure that more young people worldwide have timely access to appropriate, youth-friendly mental healthcare. Srividya leads ACCESS Open Minds, a pan-Canadian network transforming mental healthcare for urban, rural, Indigenous, and homeless youths across Canada.

Heather Orpana

Dr. Heather Orpana is a Senior Research Scientist at the Public Health Agency of Canada and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa School of Epidemiology and Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine. She leads the Integrated Data and Enhanced Analytics team that informs our understanding of the opioid crisis and substance-related harms in Canada.

Megan Zeni

Megan Zeni is an experienced and practising classroom teacher who currently teaches in an outdoor and garden classroom. She is a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia in curriculum and pedagogy. She is a whole systems thinker who offers mentorship and leadership with pedagogical applications of outdoor play and learning in the elementary school context. Megan also offers professional learning for educators who locate their curriculum in school gardens and outdoor classrooms.

Kimberly Matheson

Dr. Kim Matheson is the joint Research Chair in Culture and Gender Mental Health in the Department of Neuroscience and the Royal’s Institute of Mental Health. She is the founding Director of The Canadian Health Adaptations, Innovations, & Mobilization (CHAIM) Centre. From 2007-2015, she was Carleton’s Vice-President (Research & International). She is currently the project director of the Indigenous Youth Futures Partnership, an interdisciplinary program of research in partnership with First Nations communities in North-western Ontario to create the conditions for their youth to flourish.