Effectiveness of substance abuse prevention program on knowledge and attitude of soldiers

Due to the presence of individuals at high risk situations, military environment can dispose many behavioral diseases. Educational period is a valuable opportunity for instructing and enhancing the soldiers’ awareness. This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of educational programs of preventing from substance abuse on the soldiers’ awareness and attitude. This educational program was conducted in 14 military and police force centers in Fars province at two stages. At the first stage, introduced representatives from each camp or garrison were trained as the peer group and at the second stage they trained conscripts of relevant garrisons. Educational materials included a series of pamphlet, slides and booklets. Also, a written questionnaire was used to investigate the effect of training. Paired t-test was used for comparing the pre-training and post-training and logistic regression was used to assess the effect of variables on the amount of awareness and attitude. The mean participants’ education was 11.22±3.5 years. The prevention program of addiction significantly increased the knowledge and improved the attitude of conscripts (p<0.001). Among three variables including age, sex and marital status, only age variable had significant correlation with pre-training knowledge. Addiction prevention programs in military environments not only promote the levels of awareness and knowledge, and improve the attitude, but also enhance individual’ performance.