More than 50 professionals are being trained to prevent online gambling among young people

The sessions were given by two researchers from the Gamble-Out program, belonging to the Mental Health in Primary Care Research group of the Aragon Health Research Institute (IIS Aragon)

The Almería Provincial Council has launched specialized training to strengthen the prevention of gambling among young people, especially in the digital sphere, with two practical workshops aimed at more than 50 professionals from the Almería and Poniente Outpatient Treatment Center, prevention technical staff, professionals from the public and subsidized addiction network, as well as nurses and nurses in charge of educational centers.

According to the provincial institution, the activity has been organized through the Provincial Service for Drug Dependence and Addictions, within the annual program aimed at improving the coordination and training of professionals working in the prevention of addictions in the province.

The Vice President of the Almería Provincial Council and Deputy for Social Welfare, Ángel Escobar, attended the first day on Tuesday, while the second day is scheduled for Wednesday.

Escobar has highlighted the value of these courses aimed at preventing gambling among young people and stressed that "prevention is a fundamental tool to anticipate the risks that affect our youth and offer effective responses from the educational, health and social fields."

In this regard, he stressed that "gambling, especially in digital environments, is an increasingly present reality that requires specialized training, innovative methodologies and intervention close to the contexts in which young people live."

Furthermore, the vice president pointed out that "the Provincial Council continues to support the ongoing training of professionals because they are the ones who, from the municipalities, educational centers, health resources and the addictions network, can detect situations of vulnerability and act more effectively."

"Prevention cannot be limited to transmitting information, but must generate meaningful experiences that help young people to reflect and make responsible decisions," he added.

Gamble-Out Program

The workshops present the Gamble-Out programThis is a prevention initiative based on active methodologies that incorporates structured, playful activities as an educational tool. This approach aims to "encourage student involvement, develop decision-making skills, dispel misconceptions about gambling, and improve risk perception."

The objectives of these sessions include learning about the main characteristics of gambling among young people, understanding the fundamentals of a prevention program based on experiential learning, experiencing playful dynamics applied to prevention, acquiring criteria for its professional implementation, and incorporating basic strategies to assess the impact of interventions.

The sessions are led by two experts with specific training in pathological gambling and principal investigators of the Gamble-Out program, belonging to the Mental Health Research Group in Primary Care of the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón).

The activity is aimed at professionals from the Outpatient Treatment Centers of Almería and Poniente, technical prevention staff of the province, professionals from the public and subsidized addiction network, as well as nurses and nurses in educational centers interested in learning about the risks of gambling and preventive responses from a public health perspective.

Source: Europa Press