RRISK program reducing harm in teens

NORTHERN NSW high school students will soon study challenging life topics in the returning Reduce Risk and Improve Student Knowledge (RRISK) program.

Drugs, alcohol, partying, peer influence and safe driving are all included in the webinars aimed at Year 11 students. More than 2,100 students from 28 schools participated in RRISK in 2023.

The Northern NSW developed program has run for 20 years, and subsequent research has supported its long-term effect on reducing car crashes and their severity. An independent study over 13 years found that RRISK participants were 24 per cent less likely to crash and 42 per cent less likely to crash driving in the dark.

Northern NSW Local Health District’s Acting Director of Integrated Care and Allied Health, Kathryn Watson, said RRISK provided students with vital information to keep them safe.

“The purpose of these webinars is to help young people stay safe on our roads and at parties.”

“They learn how to support and look after their friends and make safer decisions.”

Young drivers under 26 years made up 14 per cent of all licence holders in 2021 but accounted for almost 25 per cent of accidental road deaths in that year. Schools are provided with lesson plan ideas to support students’ learning before and after the webinars.

“Lesson plans include how to put someone in a recovery position to save their life and how to respond to challenging situations involving drugs and alcohol and the risks of vaping,” Watson said.

Of the evaluated students, around 80 per cent agreed or strongly agreed the RRISK program made them more capable of being safe. This included agreeing with a friend to look out for each other at parties, identifying and looking after someone who is intoxicated, and calling an ambulance for someone who is unconscious or severely drunk.

High schools can now register for the one-and-a-half-hour webinars on November 13, 14 and 15.

Educators and families can find more information at healthupnorth.info/RRISK24