A feature of an effective drug prevention system is the training of stakeholders.1 Progress in this area in Ireland can be seen through the implementation of the European Prevention Curriculum (EUPC) training programme,
albeit to limited numbers to date.

What is the EUPC?

The EUPC is a training programme whose primary goal is ‘to reduce the health, social and economic problems associated with substance use by building international prevention capacity through the expansion of the European professional prevention workforce’ (p. 10).²

Improving the quality of drug prevention interventions and systems internationally is a focus of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Building on its International Standards on Drug Use Prevention, the UNODC has developed a tool for countries to assess their drug prevention systems and interventions in line with the standards.^1,2 The Review of national prevention systems based on the UNODC/WHO International Standards on Drug Use Prevention: final report of the pilot in Norway was published in September 2023 and a webinar on the project findings held on 19 April 2024.^2,3

In July 2024, the Health Research Board (HRB) published Integrative review on place-based and other geographically defined responses to drug-related threats in communities,¹ the ninth report in the Drug and Alcohol Evidence Review series. On behalf of the Department of Health, the HRB commissioned this report to systematically review and synthesise the international evidence on this topic. Place-based initiatives emerged originally in the field of health, guided by new ideas relating to the social determinants of health, the role of the socioecological context, implementation science, and the importance of community empowerment.

Although there are considerable variations, it is possible to identify an underlying model which focuses on providing universal, structural interventions that seek to improve health and well-being by modifying the social context in which health-related behaviour occurs.

The key findings of the review are set out below under the five research questions.

Background and methods

The overall prevalence of recreational drug use (RDU) has risen in Ireland from 5.6% in 2002/2003 to 7.4% in 2019/2020; and males report a higher prevalence of RDU in comparison to females (12.3% and 5.7%, respectively).¹ International evidence suggests that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) have a higher prevalence of drug use versus age-comparable non-gbMSM.² Previously cited reasons for this drug use disparity may include ‘minority stress’, as well as the perceived ‘normalisation’ of drug use within the gbMSM community, including sexualised drug use (SDU).^3,4,5 However, in Ireland, there is a paucity of literature regarding the prevalence of drug use and its determinants among gbMSM.