Prescription Drug Safety Curriculum Increased Student Knowledge by 49 Percent in its Inaugural Academic Year

STAMFORD, Conn., August 15, 2018 /3BL Media/ — Purdue Pharma L.P. today announced that, through its partnership in the Prescription Drug Safety Network (“the Network”), more than 6,000 high school students in 103 schools gained access to an innovative evidence-based digital prevention curriculum created by prevention education leader EVERFI during the 2017 – 2018 school year. Nationwide, 57,000 students accessed the digital Prescription Drug Safety prevention curriculum and increased their scores on six different learning modules by an average of 49 percent.¹

The Network is a nationwide coalition of public and private-sector organizations that share a commitment of empowering students with skills to help them make safe and healthy decisions about prescription medications. The Network was created by EVERFI to raise awareness of the opioid crisis at a national level and bring the Prescription Drug Safety prevention curriculum to high school students at scale.

“We’re excited to be part of the Network that is driving measurable improvements in knowledge gain and self-reported confidence related to prescription drug safety,” said Lisa C. Miller, Pharm. D, head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Purdue Pharma. “We’re committed to ensuring a greater reach of this critical educational offering across our home state of Connecticut and are pleased to have enthusiastic partners through the Connecticut Prevention Network to help make this a reality.”

Through Purdue’s support of the Network, students in California, Connecticut, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia accessed the curriculum in the 2017-18 academic year. As reported by EVERFI, students in these regions demonstrated:

• A 131 percent knowledge increase in their ability to support a friend who may be abusing prescription drugs (from 39 percent pre-course to 90 percent post-course);
• A 62 percent increase in the number of students who reported that they can identify the signs of prescription drug misuse and abuse (from 45 percent pre-course to 73 percent post-course);
• A 37 percent increase in students who report they are confident in their ability to step in to help someone who is misusing or abusing prescription drugs (from 46 percent pre-course to 63 percent post-course); and
• A 36 percent increase in their understanding of effective refusal skills (from 67 percent pre-course to 91 percent post-course).

The digital Prescription Drug Safety curriculum was also well regarded by teachers. Results from a national teacher survey found that 83 percent of educators who had been trained to deploy the program would recommend the course to their peers.

The Connecticut Prevention Network
The Connecticut Prevention Network (CPN) is a collection of regional coalitions that bring together government leaders, mental health and substance abuse treatment professionals, law enforcement, social service providers, school personnel, parents, civic groups, faith organizations, youth and others to advocate for wellness initiatives across all 169 cities and towns in Connecticut. Through a partnership with Purdue, CPN will raise awareness of EVERFI’s Prescription Drug Safety curriculum beyond the schools through parental engagement.

“The Connecticut Prevention Network’s priorities include the prevention of prescription drug abuse and addiction through education, combined with advocating for responsible prescription practices,” said CPN representative Allison A. Fulton, CPS. “The EVERFI curriculum will increase knowledge among students, while our community initiatives will raise awareness about the importance of responsible use of prescription medications.”

About EVERFI’s Evidence-Based, Population-Level Approach
Grounded in behavior change theory and the incorporation of evidence-based practices, the Prescription Drug Safety curriculum utilizes social norms theory to engage the healthy majority of students who do not misuse or abuse prescription drugs and challenge misperceptions about the prevalence and social acceptance of prescription drug misuse and abuse. Bystander intervention strategies are incorporated to help students recognize the signs of prescription drug misuse and abuse and build self-efficacy to assist someone who may be struggling with such issues. Interactive scenarios and self-guided activities help students practice healthy decision-making in a safe virtual environment. The curriculum also includes teacher-guided classroom interaction to socialize and solidify the learning experience. The course is aligned with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Education Standards and state academic standards.

About the Study Methodology
The data presented in this release includes results from in-course assessments used to measure students’ knowledge and pre- and post-course surveys to measure their attitudes and behaviors on prescription drug use. For the five Purdue-sponsored regions, 6,205 students completed Prescription Drug Safety during the 2017-2018 academic year. Attitude and behavior survey results for the Purdue-sponsored regions include 5,849 pre-course responses and 1,354 post-course responses. 

About EVERFI, Inc.
EVERFI, Inc. is the leading education technology company that provides learners of all ages education for the real world, through innovative and scalable digital learning. Founded in 2008, EVERFI has certified over 20 million learners in critical skill areas with more than 4,300 partners in all 50 U.S. states and Canada. EVERFI is an industry leader that builds Networks to tackle the toughest social issues, including the Campus Prevention Network, a coalition of higher education institutions committed to campus sexual assault and alcohol abuse prevention; and the Financial Capability Network, a coalition of industry leaders dedicated to improving financial outcomes for communities across the country.

About Purdue Pharma
Purdue Pharma L.P. develops and provides prescription medicines that meet the evolving needs of healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers. We were founded by physicians and we are currently led by a physician. Beyond our efforts to provide quality medications, Purdue is committed to supporting national, regional and local collaborations to drive innovations in patient care. Privately held, Purdue is pursuing a pipeline of new medications and technologies through internal research & development and strategic industry partnerships. For more information, please visit www.purduepharma.com.

1. Prescription Drug Safety Network. Prescription Drug Safety Course. K-12 Impact Report 2017-2018. Retrieved from: https://everfi.com/networks/prescription-drug-safety-network/impact/. Accessed August 13, 2018.

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Media Contact
Danielle Lewis
Purdue Pharma L.P.
Office: +1-203-588-7653
danielle.lewis@pharma.com