Project evaluation “Prevent in Family”: peer education approach for the prevention of drug use

The family, as a primary unit of socialization, generates risk and protective factors for drug use.
Therefore, the family should be one of the most important areas for implementing preventive
intervention. “Prevent in Family” is a project developed by the Government of Navarra since
2001 that incorporates a peer education approach as the methodology to work on universal
prevention with parents in schools. In this article, in addition to describing the theoretical and
methodological model that underpins this project, we present the results of an evaluation of
the period 2001-2016. The results of this evaluation, as well as the review of different metaassessments
and good practice guides, confirm the adequacy of the main methodological
decisions incorporated in the design of our project. Especially noteworthy, is the ability of
education between equals to respond to high-relevance quality criteria, such as interactivity,
generating mutual support or building a pleasant and relaxed learning environment. However,
as it appears in other research, we find that recruitment and retention are one of the main
difficulties in family prevention.