Taking prevention training to frontline workers across Europe

Prevention training for frontline workers is set to expand across Europe thanks to a Cooperation Agreement being signed today by the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) and HOGENT University's Research Centre for Substance Use and Psychosocial Risk Behaviours. The 10-year agreement is being signed in Ghent by EUDA Executive Director, Alexis Goosdeel, and General Director of HOGENT, Koen Goethals.

The agreement centres on the roll-out of training materials developed under the EU-funded Frontline Politeia Project (January 2022-December 2023), coordinated by HOGENT.

During the project, an implementers' training course, designed for frontline staff, such as teachers, police and streetworkers, was developed and tested. Based on the European Prevention Curriculum (EUPC), and known as 'EUPC-Frontline Training', it comprises a series of modules based on different prevention settings.

The EUPC-Frontline Training uses a blended learning approach, combining e-learning tools and face-to-face sessions. The training builds on previous EU-funded projects (e.g. EDPQS, UPC-Adapt, ASAP), which focused on training decision-, opinion- and policymakers (DOPs).

Today's agreement gives the EUDA the right and mandate to disseminate and implement the EUPC-Frontline Training across Europe and its partner countries through its e-learning platform PLATO. In turn, the EUDA provides the project partners with free access to PLATO (¹).

Frontline staff coordinated by DOPs need to be trained in prioritising evidence-based interventions and phasing out obsolete practices. Today's agreement marks a significant milestone in extending prevention efforts to those on the frontline of public health in Europe.

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