NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- James E. Foster, senior fellow with the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies (VIPPS) and professor of economics, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to examine long-term effects of the Head Start program on the health of its participants.
The $151,000 grant, made by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, will fund a two-year project conducted in VIPPS' Center for Health Policy. "Investing in Health: The Long-term Impact of Head Start" seeks to determine whether participation in the childhood program affects subsequent health in adulthood. Kathryn Anderson, associate professor of economics, is co-investigator. Research started this fall and runs through the end of academic year 2005-06.
"Many studies have evaluated the impact of Head Start on subsequent cognitive abilities and success in school," Foster explained. "Interestingly, though, the health impacts of the program have not received very much attention. The goal of our research is to evaluate the impact of Head Start on long-term health." Foster said that, using Panel Study of Income Dynamics data, he and Anderson will compare various measures of health among Head Start program participants and their siblings who did not attend Head Start.
They will estimate the effects of Head Start on general health status, such as self-reported health, and on specific health risks and conditions, such as high blood pressure and obesity; and they'll analyze its impact on important health behaviors such as exercise and smoking patterns and on a battery of health knowledge indicators.
"It is our suspicion that Head Start benefits its participants in ways not previously appreciated," Foster said. "Since its inception in the mid-1960s, the program has improved school readiness - cognitive ability - for more than 20 million children living in poverty."
"While we know that Head Start has helped parents of those children provide adequate nutrition and ensured that the children receive proper immunizations and other preventive health measures and have continuous access to pediatric health care, what we haven't considered is how those advantages track into program participants' lives as they age," he said.
Foster noted that health outcomes improve when literacy rates rise, as people are better able to read labels and follow medical advice. He suspects that behaviors such as avoiding smoking, eating healthier and getting regular exercise also result from better education and early intervention like that provided by Head Start.
"If our results identify long-term health benefits for participants, this would be relevant in future evaluations - and funding decisions - concerning Head Start," Foster said.
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CONTACT: Susanne Hicks, Vanderbilt Media
Relations, 615-322-NEWS, susanne.hicks@vanderbilt.edu
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