In 2020, in an effort to better inform the Prevention Coalition of Monmouth County’s (PCMC) prevention work, PCMC’s New and Emerging Drugs/Trends Task Force worked with the Center for Research and Evaluation on Education and Human Services (CREEHS) at Montclair State University (MSU) to conduct a countywide assessment of residents 18 years or older in Monmouth County. The assessment consisted of a survey instrument to collect residents’ perceptions and experiences related to substance use and misuse, resources and communication, and their community. The final survey instrument was programmed in Qualtrics and made available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese to allow for a greater number of residents to access the survey. Overall, 557 survey responses were recorded, with 489 of these respondents completing some portion of the PCMC Community Survey; a rate of 88%.
In 2020, PCMC’s assessment revealed that more than half of respondents (59%) reported that their family did not have a protocol or plan in place for safe storage of prescription pain medications. Two-thirds (65%) of respondents stated their doctor had never discussed alternatives to prescription pain medications with them and half (54%) indicated that their doctor had never discussed the risks associated with prescription pain medications with them.
School Survey
Calling All Monmouth County School Personnel! We need your help! PCMC is seeking information on your school's prevention needs to guide our initiatives. As you may know, there are many risk factors that can contribute to youth mental health, substance use, and other issues that affect academic achievement and overall health. It is important that we work together to create a safe and supportive environment that empowers students to make good choices and protects them from harm. Our team has created a short survey that will help us learn more about the current issues students are facing and resources that would be beneficial to the well-being of both staff and students in your district.