The MyUSE Research Group in University College Cork (UCC) is to receive funding over the next 3 years under the Department of Health’s National Drug Prevention and Education Funding Programme. The funding programme aims to increase the delivery in Ireland of prevention programmes that are supported by evidence and adhere to international prevention standards.1,2

The MyUSE Research Group includes Dr Michael Byrne, head of UCC Student Health; Dr Samantha Dockray and Dr Conor Linehan, senior lecturers in the School of Applied Psychology; Professor Ciara Heavin, professor of business information systems; Dr Seán Millar of the School of Public Health; and Dr Martin Davoren, executive director of the Sexual Health Centre in Cork City.

Funding will be used to enact the Enabling Students and Higher Education Institutions to Lead the response on Drugs (E-SHEILD) programme. This programme will support students and higher education institutions (HEIs) to reduce harms experienced through drug use. It also aims to reduce the overall number of students choosing to take drugs. Each participating Irish HEI will be provided with MyUSE, a mobile app/web-based prevention, education, and behavioural change intervention, which aims to:

• Increase mindful decision-making with respect to drug use
• Cultivate harm reduction practices
• Promote alternatives to drug use activities

Figure 1: MyUSE evidence-informed mobile app

MyUSE is a new evidence-informed mobile app that has been purpose-developed for students in higher education (see Figure 1). Specific evidence-based behaviour-change techniques are delivered via the clinical algorithm contained within the app.3

1    United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and World Health Organization (WHO) (2018) International standards on drug use prevention. 2nd edn. Vienna: UNODC. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/30048/

2    European Prevention Standards Partnership (2015) European Drug Prevention Quality Standards (EDPQS) Toolkits. Lisbon: EMCDDA. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/24582/

3    For further information on MyUSE and the E-SHEILD programme, contact Dr Michael Byrne at: m.byrne@ucc.ie