Wednesday, April 2, 2025
4/2/2025
Protecting Our Pack From Substance Misuse - CASAT, School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) is the applicant organization and will execute the SPF-PFS through UNR's NVCARES coalition, administered by CASAT. Through the SPF-PFS, CASAT will reduce alcohol, marijuana, and e-cigarette ( e-cig ) misuse among undergraduate students at UNR. The name of our project is SPF-PFS: Protecting Our Pack from Substance Misuse, referencing UNR’s mascot “the Wolf Pack.” The UNR undergraduate student body is diverse across race and ethnicity (25.3% Hispanic, 8.3% Asian, 3.6% Black, 0.6% American Indian/Alaskan Native, 0.5% Pacific Islander, and 9.3% multiple races/other), gender identity and sexual orientation (5.9% identify as nonbinary, 2.5% identify as transgender; 32.1% report a sexual orientation other than straight/heterosexual, including 16.2% bisexual, 4.1% gay, 3.0% lesbian, 8.8% another orientation), and socioeconomic status (SES; 18.8% receive Pell Grants, an indicator of lower SES). Most undergraduates (79.6%) are aged 24 or younger. Data comparing UNR students to a national reference sample shows UNR students report using all substances at higher rates than the reference sample and report experiencing more consequences of misuse. Given the overall magnitude of alcohol, marijuana, and e-cig use, higher reported use compared to a reference sample, and potential for long-term harms of these substances, the priorities are to reduce alcohol, marijuana, and e-cig use among UNR undergraduate students. Goal 1 is to expand and strengthen UNR’s prevention capacity (resources and readiness) to implement EBPIs that reduce risk and increase protection related to substance misuse. Objectives for this capacity goal include assessing readiness and resources and increasing these components of capacity over the five years of the grant; strengthening the NVCARES coalition by expanding membership and providing training on prevention, substance use consequences, and behavioral health disparities; training student leaders on policy, advocacy, and leadership and delivering educational presentations to various campus units; and obtaining additional funding as part of sustaining prevention. Goal 2 is to reduce the onset and progression of alcohol, marijuana, and e-cig use across UNR students, including underserved groups, by implementing EBPIs that reduce risk and increase protection. Objectives for this goal include implementing a mix of direct and indirect universal and selective strategies will include a social marketing campaign to address favorable attitudes towards substance use, low perceptions of harm, and promote mental health; an individual-level universal program to promote mental health, prosocial activities, prosocial peer associations, and close relationships; population-specific selective EBPIs to reduce risk and enhance protection and mental health promotion; and review/enhance substance-related policies on campus; reduce risk factors and increase protective factors; and a reduction in current and past three-month use of alcohol, marijuana, and e-cigs. This SPF-PFS project will reach at least 5,000 students in Year 1 through the social marketing campaign, universal EBPI, and other messaging/outreach strategies, and a total of 25,000 students through these strategies by the end of Year 5.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).