Formal intervention assessment of Life Begins program

We are pleased to announce the results of a recent study that shows students who participate in Life Begins learn and remember the vital information presented in the program.

During the spring of 2005, the Weller Center conducted a formal intervention assessment of Life Begins—our most requested program reaching more than 6,300 students last year alone! The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of Life Begins on fifth grade students’ acquisition and retention of knowledge related to the reproductive systems, puberty, fetal development and labor and delivery. To determine the effectiveness of the program, a team of health education faculty members from the Health Education Program at Southern Illinois University evaluated the program. The intervention group consisted of 118 students while the control group consisted of 99 students. Students exposed to the Life Begins curricula had significantly higher scores than the control group on a post-test immediately following the program and on a follow-up test six weeks later measuring knowledge retention. For a copy of the complete report, call 610-258-8500, ext. 10.

Since then, we've tested several other program areas including tobacco prevention and asthma awareness, which have yielded equally impressive results.

These research studies are what make the Weller Center such a unique resource for you and your students. We are the only organization in the region whose sole mission is providing preventive health education for children through this type of evidence-based programming. Our master’s-level instructors have the knowledge, expertise and skill to reach your students with important, potentially life-saving messages on very sensitive topics including reproductive health. Now, through outcomes-based studies, we can unequivocally show that students learn and retain the information provided in the Weller Center’s programs.

For more information on these studies or how the Weller Center can serve you and your students, call 610-258-8500, ext. 10.

Home