Lay summary
Drug use (nicotine, alcohol, illicit drugs) is a major cause of health loss and inequities in Aotearoa New Zealand. Youth are more vulnerable to drug harm than adults, with Māori youth disproportionately impacted. NZ’s National Drug Policy aims to “minimise alcohol and other drug-related harm…” yet knowledge about how youth experience drug harm is limited. This hinders our ability to quantify harms, and to design and evaluate effective harm-prevention and early-intervention strategies. We propose a mixed-methods study using participatory theory to investigate how drug harm is experienced and conceptualised by Aotearoa’s youth. We will use the findings to develop measures to quantify the nature and extent of drug harm in Aotearoa’s youth via a national survey. Our study will inform local and international policy and practice. We aim to reduce drug-related harms, which will add economic value through avoided healthcare costs and benefits to productivity.