A Community Approach to Substance Abuse in Emanuel County

Substance Abuse is perceived as one of the most critical problems in Emanuel County. The data from Emanuel County indicate that substance abuse impacts on the incidence of child abuse, the crime rate, the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, the teenage pregnancy rate, and the school drop out rate. In this project, the consultant role of the rural community clinical nurse specialist was used to raise the awareness of Emanuel County citizens about the scope of the drug abuse problem and to help them to plan and implement drug abuse prevention strategies. The project was developed with the support of the Governor\u27s Internship program which created a mutually beneficial arrangement for the MSN student, GSC, and the participating Emanuel County schools and agencies. The goal of the internship was to apply the student\u27s academic background to a professional situation alongside experts in the field. A great deal of momentum was generated by the efforts of the project. Continued efforts need to support increased awareness and to develop early prevention/intervention strategies. Recommendations will be given to Emanuel County agencies and schools to support utilization and further development of the project through better referral, increased research, and improved educational strategies