How a middle-school prevention program affected lives and costs
Investing in Prevention Infrastructure: Economic Evaluation of the PROSPER System
This project finds out whether a school- and family-based prevention system delivered in middle school led to long-term health and money benefits for the youth who received it.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Pennsylvania State University, the NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (University Park, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11308662 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
As someone who or whose community took part in a middle-school prevention program, this work looks at how that program affected people’s lives and costs into adulthood. It uses data from over 12,000 youth who took part in the original PROSPER effort and follows their outcomes years later. The team will link those long-term results to economic measures to estimate savings for individuals and communities. They will also examine how local program quality and supports changed how efficiently prevention worked.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates for follow-up are people who participated in the original PROSPER trial as middle-school students or adults from those rural communities.
Not a fit: People who were never part of the original program or who live outside the rural communities studied are unlikely to be directly involved or to receive benefit from this specific project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could show that investing in early school- and family-based prevention reduces substance misuse later and produces economic savings for individuals and communities.
How similar studies have performed: Earlier PROSPER trials demonstrated reduced substance misuse among participants, but measuring the full long-term economic impact is newer and less established.
Where this research is happening
University Park, United States
- Pennsylvania State University, the — University Park, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Crowley, Daniel Max — Pennsylvania State University, the
- Study coordinator: Crowley, Daniel Max
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.