EFFECTIVENESS OF A STRUCTURED TEACHING PROGRAMME ON KNOWLEDGE REGARDING SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND ITS COMPLICATIONS AMONG ADOLESCENTS: A PRE-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY FROM JAIPUR, RAJASTHAN, INDIA

Background: Adolescent substance abuse is an escalating public health crisis in India, with initiation predominantly occurring during the second decade of life. Structured educational interventions represent a cost-effective and evidence-aligned strategy to build protective knowledge among this vulnerable cohort. Objectives: To assess baseline knowledge, administer a Structured Teaching Programme (STP), and evaluate its effectiveness by comparing pre-test and post-test knowledge scores among secondary-school adolescents. Methods: A one-group pre-test–post-test pre-experimental design was adopted (N = 300). A validated, bilingual (English–Hindi) Structured Knowledge Questionnaire (SKQ; 42 knowledge items, 5 domains; KR-20 = 0.82; S-CVI/Ave = 0.93) was employed. Data were analysed using paired t-test, descriptive statistics, and Chi-square tests. Results: Pre-test mean score was 14.77 ± 4.32; post-test mean was 34.87 ± 3.94 (mean gain = 20.10 ± 4.68; paired t = 74.28; df = 299; p < 0.001; Cohen’s d = 4.29). Participants with adequate knowledge increased from 8.0% to 73.3%. Conclusions: The STP demonstrated exceptionally significant effectiveness. School-based nurse-facilitated drug-education programmes should be institutionalised as a core component of national adolescent prevention policy.