Expanding the Evidence-Based PROSPER Delivery System to Address the Opioid Epidemic (PROSPER Rx Project)
The PROSPER Delivery System, an innovative partnership linking USDA’s Extension System with the public school system, was first tested by the Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute through a NIDA grant beginning in 2002. Utilizing proactively supported community-based PROSPER Teams, it remains one of the few models scientifically proven as efficacious for the high-quality delivery of evidence-based programs. Current PROSPER Teams are having great impact on risk and protective factors known to influence substance abuse; however, they are not currently implementing programming content or community-based prevention strategies that specifically address the risks of opioid and prescription drug misuse. The purpose of this project is to expand and enhance the PROSPER Delivery System to specifically address the rural opioid epidemic through the incorporation of evidence-based approaches outlined by the Johns Hopkins Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness. The desired impact is to reduce prescription opioid demand and availability through a combination of partnership-supported programming and community-based prevention strategies. Evidence-based family and school programming already supported by PROSPER Teams in three rural communities will be expanded to include opioid-specific educational content. Teams also will engage in broad-based community awareness-building activities, including coordinating with rural healthcare providers and public health professionals to develop and distribute family and patient educational materials promoting safe medication storage and disposal. Significantly, this project will allow the PROSPER Network Organization, which provides coaching and support to PROSPER partners in all participating states, to enhance the capacity of Extension professionals and their state- and community-level partners to employ and sustain a comprehensive community systems approach to address the opioid epidemic.
Principal Investigator: Lisa Schainker
Funder: National Institute on Food and Agriculture/U.S. Department of Agriculture