The first type of prevention to be addressed in this essay is primary prevention. The basic ideal behind this intervention is to stop the problem before it becomes a problem. At the primary level intervention is given to entire populations when they are not in need or distress. T

The third and final prevention method as described by Caplan is tertiary prevention. At the tertiary level of prevention, the targeted populations are individuals who currently have the problem or disorder. The intentions of community psychologist who work with this method are to reduce the intensity and duration of the disorder. The goal is to prevent re-occurrences and additional complications. If an individual is currently a victim of drug abuse the Health Department may want to establish a program in which medical facilities and drug rehabilitation facilities are readily available within Chicago. Teacher, community members and families may need to be educated about how to deal with teenagers who use drug and conventional methods on how to persuade those individuals to seek help. Another aspect of this program may be counseling and educational assistance for those teenagers who need help staying off of drugs. The tertiary program may initially appear to be treatment oppose to prevention however, when a teenager is already addicted to drugs, preventing them from using drugs in not a logical option in itself. What we want to prevent, at this stage this the future re-occurrence of drug use once the individual is rehabilitated and the prevention of additional complications that come along with a drug program such as violent criminal activity or lose of health.

Finally I would like to take the opportunity to interject my personal opinion by recommending the specific prevention problem that I believe is best suited to solve the issue of teenage drug use in the Chicago land area. Drug use among teenagers in urban communities such as Chicago is a serious and complicated issue that would be impossible to solve by using one single method. Attacking the problem at multiple levels is the only way in which the Health Department would be able to progress toward a drug free adolescence population. While the primary prevention method is certainly important in educating young children about the dangers of drug use, 100 percent success cannot realistically be expected. Such methods as the secondary and tertiary prevention plans as described above should be in place as a safety net to prevent the escalation of additional problems in those teenagers who did not get the message. The primary prevention would be the ideal method since it is cost effective and eliminates the long-term effects that come along with drug use. The secondary method is also a good method because it can be used as a tool to intervene before an "at risk" youth develops a drug problem. The main problem with this of cours

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1764
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)