1. Use of “Drug of the Week” to Educate Chemistry Students
about Prescription Drugs and Abuse
Holly E. Kraus, Dr. Mary Railing
Wheeling Jesuit University, Wheeling, WV
Future Work
Acknowledgments
• Martha Polinsky of the Ohio County Substance Abuse
Prevention Coalition
• WJU Student Research Travel Fund
• Special thanks to help design and administering
surveys from Meredith Rohan and Megan Blackburn
• Dr. Raudenbush
References
1.Meagher, Phyllis. "Vicodin Addiction Facts and Statistics." Beacon House Recovery for
a Lifetime. Beacon House, 2016. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.
2.Patterson, Eric. "Percocet Abuse." DrugAbuse.com. Abuse Rehab Centers, 2012.
Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
3.Raby, John, and Johnathon Mattise. "Report: West Virginia Has Highest Drug
Overdose Death Rate." The Washington Times. The Washington Times, 17 June 2015.
Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
4.Rasheed, Amna. "Statistics on Adderall." AccuStatistics: Find the Accurate Statistics.
AccuStatisticsOn, 03 Sept. 2015. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
5.Stockard, Fiona. "Xanax Addiction Facts | Xanax Addiction Statistics." The Blog. Light
House Recovery Institute, 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
• Expand research to other college campuses and
courses.
• Present results to Ohio County Substance Abuse
Prevention Coalition Steering Committee and WJU
Alcohol and Drug Committee.
• Educate more students about the common
misconceptions and dangers of prescription drugs.
• Develop a more aggressive approach to encourage
students to learn material.
Survey
Introduction and Statistics Results
• Students believed the over prescription of the drugs could be the primary result of
being able to get the drugs from their friends.
• Most students recognized reduced appetite and increased heart rate were
negative health consequences of the abused drugs. More serious effects such as
stroke and heart attack were the least known about by the students.
• Most students realized mixing these drugs with alcohol and other drugs have bad
side effects.
• Students found interest in first two “Drug of the Week” and lost interest with the
following weeks. This passive method would not be a good method for more than
two “Drug of the Week” posts.
• Determine if students learned and increased
correct responses from the passive method of
education
• Increase the students perception of the abuse of
Xanax, Percocet, Adderall, and Vicodin in the
college setting
• Determine if the passive method of educating
students was effective
Methods
• Surveys and consent forms were submitted to the IRB for approval.
Excel was used for data analysis.
• An Organic Chemistry class (16 students) were given surveys at the
beginning (Before) and middle (After) of the semester to test for
improvement in drug abuse knowledge.
• Drug information and statistics for Xanax, Percocet, Adderall, and
Vicodin were posted on the students’ Blackboard site weekly.
• A passive method was utilized and information was not included as
part of class lecture.
Objectives
• According to the 2014 National Survey on Drug
Use and Health, approximately 6.5 million
Americans reported taking prescription medication
for non-medical uses.2
• West Virginia has the highest drug overdose and
death rate in the U.S. and leading cause of death
in West Virginia surpassing vehicle accidents.3
• Deaths per 100,000 population increased from 22
in 2007 to 34 in 2013 which more than doubles the
national average of 13.4.3
• The Appalachian area suffers from heavy isolation
and poor education and substance abuse
programs are hard to come by.3
• Xanax is the most prescribed and most abused
benzodiazepine with an 89% increase in ER visits
from 2004 to 2008.5
• A 2012 survey found that over 16 million people
age 12 and up reported using Percocet for non-
medical purposes.2
• Abuse of Vicodin has quadrupled in the past
decade and costs the country more than $484
billion a year in health care costs.1
• Adderall is the 2nd
most used drug on college
campuses with a 3000% increase in prescription
sales from 2002 to 2006.4
Conclusions
Percentage of Students who Believe the Prescription
Drug Boosts Academic Performance
Percentage of Students who Believe the
Prescription Drug is Over Prescribed
PercentageofStudents
PercentageofStudents
Prescription Drugs Prescription Drugs
Adderall Xanax Percocet Vicodin Adderall Xanax Percocet VicodinPercentageofStudents
Prescription Drugs
Xanax Percocet Vicodin
PercentageofStudents
Prescription Drugs
Xanax Percocet Vicodin
PercentageofStudents
Prescription Drugs
Xanax Percocet Vicodin
Percentage of Students who Believed Stress was the
cause for use of Prescription Drug
Percentage of Students who Believed Misconception
was the cause for use of Prescription Drug
Percentage of Students who Believed Partying was the
cause for use of Prescription Drug