Prescription Drug Misuse Reduction Interventions Amongst Secondary School Students in Cairo: A Twelve-Month Community Mobilization Assessment

Prescription drug misuse is a growing concern among secondary school students in Cairo, Egypt, necessitating targeted interventions to mitigate its adverse effects. A mixed-methods approach incorporating surveys, focus groups, and observational assessments was employed to gather data from a representative sample of secondary schools across Cairo. Data were analysed using multivariate regression models to evaluate the impact of intervention components on student behaviors. Initial findings suggest a significant decrease in reported prescription drug misuse rates by 25% among participants compared to baseline, with notable improvements in students' knowledge about the risks of misuse and their attitudes towards prescriptions. However, further analysis is required to confirm these trends over time. The community mobilization programme demonstrated promise in reducing prescription drug misuse amongst secondary school students in Cairo, though sustained intervention efforts are necessary to ensure long-term effectiveness. Future research should focus on replicating and scaling up the intervention across broader populations while exploring additional strategies such as parental involvement and digital health education platforms. Prescription Drug Misuse, Secondary School Students, Community Mobilization, Cairo, Egypt Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.