EBPWB - GCSE Health and Social Care - Unit 2 - Drug Support Centre : i. Overcoming barriers

AIMS

To explore ways of obtaining care services and overcoming barriers to access.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

To understand how barriers occur, what they might be and how to combat them in relation to drug use.

OUTCOMES

To classify types of information.

To analyse a scenario as a youth and community project worker.

To produce a play based on a scenario.

To present their responses to the scenario.

INTRODUCTION

Discuss briefly the meaning of barriers and access. Use simple examples to illustrate i.e. physical disability, language, fear, mental ill health etc.

Ask the group first what they think these words mean.

Place the definitions on the board/poster.

Barriers Anything which may stop someone from getting to a service that they may need.

Access Any way someone gets to a service.

TASK A - RECEIVING INFORMATION

Provide students with Information Sheet 1 detailing 4 main ways of information reaching the Youth and Community Project Worker.

Ask the students in small groups of 4 to pretend that they received all 4 at once. Ask them to place the 4 main ways in order of credibility (which ones are the most believable).

Then ask them to place the 4 main ways in order of priority (which would they act on first).

TASK B - ACTING AS A YOUTH AND COMMUNITY WORKER

Divide students into groups of 4 and give each group a different Scenario from the sheet of Case Studies relating to Care Services/Barriers.

Get one of the group to read the Youth and Community Project Worker's job description.

Imagine you are a Youth and Community Project Worker. Look at the scenario you have been given and respond to the questions on the response sheet on the following pages.

TASK C - ROLE PLAY (OPTIONAL)

Ask each group to write a brief script for Scenario 6 (or any other) to show how barriers can be overcome.

Perform to the class.

TASK D - CLASS DISCUSSION

Ask each group to prepare and present to the rest of the class to justify what their responses were. They may need some materials to do this.

Ask the students;

Were the responses similar or different in each case, why?
Which of the situations would be most difficult to handle and why?
How did the Community Project Worker help to break down some of the barriers? (Building up trust, communication, being non-judgmental, confidentiality, time to talk, listening skills, honesty, language, environment etc)

TASK A

Information sheet 1

Click here to download this resource material as a pdf file


OBSERVING
	the use of drugs is when you actually see people using either legal or illegal drugs.


SUSPICION/RUMOUR
	In this case information may reach you but not be confirmed. There are some questions that you can ask yourself: How reliable is the source of the information? Should you try to confirm the rumours? How? Would it be better to wait and see if anything else comes out? Have you spotted any signs or symptoms? How could you confirm this evidence? Young people will usually feel aggrieved if called upon to deny an untrue rumour. Sometimes you can even accidentally spread further rumours and gossip by raising questions in a clumsy way.


REPORT
	In this case a young person, parent or outsider may report that a young person is using drugs. You will have to go through the same questions posed above in the section on suspicion/rumour.


DISCLOSURE
	Here, a young person tells a member of staff that they are using drugs. You should appreciate how difficult it is for young people to do this. It is vital that you react positively to this admission of trust. Most young people expect adults to overreact if they admit drug use

TASK B

Scenarios

Click here to download this resource material as a pdf file


SCENARIO 1
	You hear shouting from the toilets. You go in and find two young people holding butane gas canisters.


SCENARIO 2
	A fellow member of staff tells you that they think one of the young people you work with might be `on drugs'. They tell you the young person is always yawning, does not concentrate and is mixing with an older group who are a bad influence.


SCENARIO 3
	Jane/Jim, a young person you know well, comes in bleary eyed and half asleep. Another young person shouts out "Good night eh, what were you on?"


SCENARIO 4
	One young person tells you that another one you work with smokes heroin.


SCENARIO 5
	A member of the public rings up and tells you that at lunchtime two young people, whom you work with, were sitting on a wall smoking cannabis. He names them both.


SCENARIO 6
	A young person asks to talk to you in private. She tells you that she is worried about her drug use, particularly amphetamine, as it is getting out of control. She wants your help.

TASK B

Scenario response sheet

Click here to download this resource material as a pdf file


	How did the Project Worker gain information about the drug use? a. Observation b. Suspicion/Rumour c. Disclosure


	What would you think about the information? True/false, high or low priority


	How would you feel?


	What barriers to change to that person's situation might exist? physical, psychological, financial, geographical, cultural/language, resource


	What would you do?

TASK B

Brief job description for a Youth and Community Project Worker

Click here to download this resource material as a pdf file

They aim to:

Provide a substance use service for young people under the age of 19.

To give out information

Offer help and advice

Offer treatment both medical and counselling

Work with children and their carers and families

Work with non-users who have carers who use drugs and alcohol

They offer one to one individual appointments

The provide talks with groups of young people who are at risk of becoming users

They provide drug awareness sessions for other agencies who work with young people.