The Development of the National System of School-based Prevention of Risk Behaviour in the Czech Republic: Reflections on the outcomes of a 15-year process
Abstract
A plan to develop a system of school-based prevention of risk behaviour, including the prevention of substance use and its harms, was devised in the post-1989 Czech Republic. In terms of its coordination, this area originally fell within the remit of the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports.
A detailed analysis of the prevention situation was conducted as part of the Phare Twinning 2000 project (1999-2001) and initial steps were taken to commence a process aimed at developing a national system. Turning out to be inappropriate, the original core concept of the ""prevention of social pathologies"" was replaced with that of the ""prevention of risk behaviour"".
The gradual convergence of the school and health perspectives made it possible to create a relatively homogeneous system which goes beyond the particular departmental frameworks and offers an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental platform for the implementation of prevention at all levels, irrespective of the departmental affiliation of the providers of interventions. The framework of the system comprises four main components: (1) theoretical core, (2) goals of prevention and its main target groups, (3) the core of its content, and a component (4) addressing quality and effectiveness.