Implementation

The intervention that I would set in place for anabolic steroids would be to set up an educational program for any schools that are willing to participate or can accommodate and participate in the program. I believe the most effective way to go about establishing this program is to set aside an hour a week from a class in which every student in the school is required to take before graduation, such as a social science or physical education. Preferably, the high school would require each student to take physical education before graduating and then the program can be established for one hour a week within the class for a semester – approximately nine weeks. This program would target high school students aged 14-18, both males and females. The topics covered in the program would introduce what anabolic steroids are and explain all the negative effects that come from using these steroids. Along with these topics, positive substitutes could also be taught, and having speakers such as current coaches or athletes that are successful without the use of steroids would be a possibility if such opportunities are available. 

There are several barriers to implementation that could arise in trying to set up the intervention. One main intervention is cost, since it would cost a lot of money to set up a program in a large number of schools that would cover the salary of those running the program, as well as the materials and work done within the program itself. This barrier can be dealt with by asking for federal help or heath institutions for help that may support the program, such as the National Institute of Health. Depending on the area, the school system may also be able to contribute to helping establish the program for its students. Another barrier is the infrastructure. Many schools or individual teachers may not want to give up their class time for the program. Many students may also not want to give up an hour from a class like physical education to listen to something that may resemble a lecture. To address this, the schools and teachers can be educated about the increasing prevalence of steroid use within high schools and helping them understand why it is important for their students to participate in such a program. For the students, introducing the program as a fun and interesting experience may help change negative attitudes that some students may initially exhibit. Also, making the program interactive and providing some physical activity such as organized games can make them excited to participate in such a program.

Upon introducing the program to the adult stakeholders, showing data on the current rates of anabolic steroid use and how that number decreases when such programs that educate students on steroids are used can cause them to see the positive points of the program. Also, stressing that most use of steroids begin within the ages of 14-18 can show how crucial this age is for the prevention of steroid use. Having an informational briefing for all of these stakeholders explaining such facts may be an effective way to communicate my strategy, since I would be repeatedly targeting a large group of individuals. As far as the students – those who may or may not use steroids – a similar approach may be used in introducing the program, possibly on the first day of the program, in explaining why it is important and how it will benefit them and will be fun in the process.

At the beginning of the program, I would likely administer a randomized survey among all the students in all the schools participating in the program asking their thoughts on the risks of taking anabolic steroids (are they bad? Is it risky to take?) and then re-administering the same survey amongst the students and seeing how many of their ideas change after the program. Also, taking data on how many students have used steroids each year and then continuously monitoring these numbers for fluctuations after the program has been implemented can be another good way to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. My expected outcome would be for the students to associate steroid use with increasing risk and to have less annual anabolic steroid abuse. If such numbers are reported, I will know that the intervention is working; these serve as outcome measures. Process measures could be the ongoing interaction and feedback of the student with the individual running the program classes at that location.