Continuum of Evidence

This program is for youth who are 8 to 18 years old and their teachers and parents.

Operation Prevention, a school-based program, is designed to prevent opioid misuse.

No peer-reviewed publications evaluating the effectiveness of this program were located.

Operation Prevention intends to educate participants about the science behind drug addiction and the impact that addiction can have, so they can make informed, intelligent decisions if or when they are presented with the opportunity to experiment with opioids. Program materials are intended to help initiate important conversations between youth and their teachers and parents. The program consists of the following:

School Resources – Digital lesson plans, classroom activities, and virtual field trips are implemented in science or health classrooms and teach students about the science behind the physical and neurological effects of opioids and how opioid use has impacted the lives of others;
Self-Paced Module – Students work through a self-paced module, titled “The Science of Addiction: The Stories of Teens,” where they hear stories of teens who have dealt with prescription opioid misuse and heroin use and how it affected their lives;
Parent Toolkit – Parents learn about the warning signs of opioid misuse, tips on prevention and intervention, and ideas on how to start conversations with their children about opioids;
Multi-Drug Topic Series - Students view science-based animated videos that portray the most prevalent forms of substance misuse;
Workplace Resources - A series of self-guided resources is available to educators, administrators, and other professionals to help them address opioid misuse in the workplace; and
Culture-Based Resources - Modern science is combined with the wisdom of Native practices of wellness to help empower Native and non-Native students to avoid the dangers of substance misuse.

Resources are available in English and Spanish.

Operation Prevention was developed in collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Administration and Discovery Education and has reached more than 4 million students across the nation.

This program is implemented by classroom or health education teachers. An educator training webinar is available on the program website.

Considerations for implementing this program include acquiring administration, teacher, parent, and student buy-in; ensuring classrooms have resources to implement the digital lesson plans; and making time to deliver the lessons.

The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu

If you are interested in implementing Operation Prevention, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you! Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu

Implementation time varies. The elementary module contains three sessions and two activities. The middle school module contains 10 sessions. The high school module contains 13 sessions.

Digital lessons and activities are free to download from the program website.

To move Operation Prevention to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.

The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email clearinghouse@psu.edu

Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program. Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: clearinghouse@psu.edu

You may also contact Operation Prevention by email operationprevention@discovery.com or visit https://www.operationprevention.com/

This program is for youth who are 8 to 18 years old and their teachers and parents.

Operation Prevention, a school-based program, is designed to prevent opioid misuse.

No peer-reviewed publications evaluating the effectiveness of this program were located.

School Resources – Digital lesson plans, classroom activities, and virtual field trips are implemented in science or health classrooms and teach students about the science behind the physical and neurological effects of opioids and how opioid use has impacted the lives of others;
Self-Paced Module – Students work through a self-paced module, titled “The Science of Addiction: The Stories of Teens,” where they hear stories of teens who have dealt with prescription opioid misuse and heroin use and how it affected their lives;
Parent Toolkit – Parents learn about the warning signs of opioid misuse, tips on prevention and intervention, and ideas on how to start conversations with their children about opioids;
Multi-Drug Topic Series - Students view science-based animated videos that portray the most prevalent forms of substance misuse;
Workplace Resources - A series of self-guided resources is available to educators, administrators, and other professionals to help them address opioid misuse in the workplace; and
Culture-Based Resources - Modern science is combined with the wisdom of Native practices of wellness to help empower Native and non-Native students to avoid the dangers of substance misuse.