Citation

Pless IB. CMAJ 2002; 167(7): 767-768.

Affiliation

McGill University, Montreal, Que. barry.pless@mcgill.ca

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Canadian Medical Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12695377

Abstract

It is widely accepted that new public health initiatives should be scrutinized, just as we scrutinize the evidence on new drugs. Ideally, such programs should be evaluated before or soon after they are introduced, especially if they take a novel and untested approach or raise concerns about possible harm. This principle applies to messages about safety no less than to any other kind of public health message.

Pless presents an argument for a needed evaluation of the SMARTRISK program and determination of its affect on the high school students who attend SMARTRISK presentations. Could the program be causing harm?

Language: en