European prevention curriculum: A handbook for decision-makers, opinion-makers and policy-makers in science-based prevention of substance use

The EUPC is a European curriculum developed for use in prevention training for decisionand policy-makers. The primary goal of the EUPC training 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.

This training curriculum has been developed by a European project entitled UPC-Adapt, which was co-funded by the European Commission. Eleven partners from nine European countries cooperated in the project and adapted the UPC to suit a European audience. The UPC was originally developed by Applied Prevention Science International (APSI) with funding from the US Department of State to the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme. The adaptation of the UPC for the European context was based on the guidelines of the European Prevention Standards Partnership on adaptation and dissemination of quality standards in different contexts (EDPQS Toolkit 4). Details of the methodology used and the countries involved in the project are provided in Annex 1.

The European curriculum is shorter and more accessible than the original UPC. It can be delivered in 5 days, unlike the original UPC, which requires up to 9 weeks of training.

The EUPC can be delivered in different ways. There is an online introductory training course, a module for inclusion in prevention training carried out in academic settings and a training module for decision-, opinion- and policy-makers. The structure of the training for the last two modules uses a cascade ‘training of trainers’ approach whereby trained trainers can further disseminate the training. Trainers are provided with EUPC training materials, including a trainer’s guide and PowerPoint presentations. This handbook is intended as a reference material for both trainees and trainers.