Pathways to Resilience: Pediatricians Addressing Substance Use Among Adolescents

To enhance the capacity of clinicians to prevent, identify, and treat substance use among adolescents and young adults, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) will develop a Pathways to Resilience Toolkit. The toolkit will offer practical strategies for engaging youth in conversations about opioid use disorder and the risks of overdose from experimental or incidental drug as well as guidance on age-appropriate prevention, harm reduction, and treatment strategies. The AAP will also engage thousands of clinicians through continuing medical education resources and at least 120 pediatricians across six AAP State Chapters in a quality improvement learning collaborative that focuses on increasing screening rates and referrals to treatment for substance use disorders. Both efforts will be guided by an advisory group that includes adolescents and young adults, pediatricians, and staff from school-based clinics among others.