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Abstract
A survey of motives and attitudes associated with patterns of nonmedical prescription opioid medication use among college students was conducted on Facebook, a popular online social networking Web site. Response metrics for a 2-week random advertisement post, targeting students who had misused prescription medications, surpassed typical benchmarks for online marketing campaigns and yielded 527 valid surveys. Respondent characteristics, substance use patterns, and use motives were consistent with other surveys of prescription opioid use among college populations. Results support the potential of online social networks to serve as powerful vehicles to connect with college-aged populations about their drug use. Limitations of the study are noted.
THE AUTHORS
Sarah Lord, Ph.D., is a Principal Investigator with the Center for Technology and Health. A clinical–developmental psychologist, Dr. Lord received her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and completed an internship and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Dr. Lord's research activities focus on the development, evaluation, and dissemination of technology-based prevention and assessment tools for adolescent, young-adult, and parent populations, primarily in the areas of substance abuse and HIV prevention. Her current projects include use of online social networks to deliver evidence-based risk prevention and health promotion programs, use of mobile technologies to promote HIV health service utilization and preventive behaviors among high-risk adolescents and young adults, and computer-delivered training programs for parents to promote parent–youth communication about drug use prevention. Dr. Lord has served as Principal Investigator on numerous projects funded by the National Institutes of Health in the areas of adolescent HIV/sexually transmitted infection, tobacco use, alcohol use, and other drug use prevention. She has also worked extensively with community leaders, health educators, and marketing professionals to develop strategies for sustainable dissemination and implementation of technology-based prevention initiatives.
Julie Brevard, M.P.H., is a statistician currently working at Veristat in the field of clinical trials research. She has participated in the analysis of over 25 clinical trials in the fields of oncology and vaccine research, developing research protocols and analysis plans, performing data analysis, writing statistical reports, and serving as a member of several Data Safety Monitoring Boards. She has participated in data analysis of academic research in the areas of addiction and drug abuse since 1997. She received her M.P.H. from Boston University in 2004.
Simon Budman, Ph.D., is president and chief executive officer of Inflexxion, a health care technology company in Newton, Massachusetts. His areas of research interest are the use of technology in substance abuse screening and treatment and risk management of prescription opioids and stimulants. Prior to founding Inflexxion he was at the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health.