Overview
Keepin’ It Real is a multicultural drug-prevention program aimed at middle-school students. The curriculum extends the Life Skills model by introducing ethno-cultural narratives.
- Alcohol
- Marijuana
- Tobacco
- School
- Middle school students
- Gender: Male and female
Assumptions and Outcomes
- Skills to resist drugs
- Not documented since the program focuses on substance abuse only
Program Structure
- The program has 10 lessons delivered in a 10-week period. Each lesson lasts for about 45 minutes.
- Students only
- Providers/facilitators: The facilitator of the program is classroom teacher who has received training from Keepin’ It Real
- Training needed: Yes, a one-day program at Penn State University or at implementer’s location
Previous Implementations
- The program has been implemented in 50 states and Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. The program incorporates ethnic values to enhace resilience to substance abuse.
- Black or African American
- Hispanic or Latino
- White
| 0 | No contextual relevance |
| 1 | Place-based or ethno-culture |
| 2 | Place-based and ethno-culture |
| 3 | Place-based or ethno-culture pertaining to Hawai‘i |
| 4 | Hawai‘i-oriented contextual relevance |
Note: This framework was based on a study which examined several nationally recognized prevention programs to determine whether any may have cultural relevance to the context of Hawai‘i (Rehurer, Hiramatsu & Helm, 2008 ). We borrowed this framework and applied it to a more current list of EBPs. This approach looks at whether or not a program’s curriculum content was originated and developed with a certain place or culture in mind. A score of 0 (zero) indicates no specific reference to a place or an ethno-culture was included in the program’s development (no contextual cultural relevance) and a score of 4 (four) indicates that the program was developed either specifically for Hawai‘i or was developed somewhere else but was then also adapted for "local" and/or Native Hawaiian cultures. Placement of a program on the continuum was based on the sample population listed in their study reports and included considerations of 1) whether the program was ever implemented with populations similar to the racial/ethnic composition of Hawai‘i's population and 2) whether the program was ever adapted to meet the needs of a specified local or ethnic culture (for instance, was the curriculum has successfully implemented in Spanish or languages other than English?).
- Yes
| Location | Time Period | Organization |
| Honolulu County | 2011–2012 | Honolulu Police Department |
- No
Other
- Michael L. Hecht, Pennsylvania State University, Communication Arts and Sciences, 501 Keller Building, University Park, PA 16802, Phone: (814) 863-3545, Fax: (814) 863-7986, Email: mlh10@psu.edu
- Scott Gilliam Phone: (800) 223-3273 Email: scott.gilliam@dare.org
- Keepin’ It REAL website: http://www.kir.psu.edu/index.shtml
- Keepin’ It Real on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SHAMSA) National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP): Keepin' It Real
- Center on the Family, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. (2016). Prevention Programs Online Survey, 2014–2016 (Tool C2 & D5)
- Center on the Family, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. (2013). Substance Abuse Prevention Resource Mapping Project
- Rehuher, D., Hiramatsu, T., & Helm, S. (2008). Evidence-based youth drug prevention: a critique with implications for practice-based contextually relevant prevention in Hawai‘i. Hawaii Journal of Public Health. 1(1): 52-61. Retrieved from http://health.hawaii.gov/hjmph/files/2013/09/Volume1.1.pdf
- Yuan, S., Sabino, S., & Wongkaren, T. (2013). Final evaluation report: Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant, State of Hawaii, 2006-2012. Honolulu, HI: Center on the Family, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
