Adoption and Implementation Support Innovations for PROSPER Partnership-Based EBI Delivery Network

We proposed to further the development of a translational network of state-based partnerships among schools, communities, and universities, designed for broad implementation of universal, evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for youth and their families. This network is based on the PROSPER (PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience) Partnership Model (PPM) for the dissemination of EBIs, and is led by a team of staff members at Iowa State University's Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute, along with collaborators from the Prevention Research Institute at Pennsylvania State University. Our approach involved:

  • Conducting key informant surveys of representatives from the Cooperative Extension, public school, and public health systems from all 50 states, to assess factors that may influence the adoption of the PPM, and to rank states on level of readiness for PPM implementation.
  • The selection of four states in which to conduct an evaluation of a partnership adoption decision-making team support strategy that incorporates motivational coaching
  • The conduct of a controlled pilot study of the PPM in one of the identified "partnership-ready" states.

Study findings supported the capacity of the PPM to support high-quality, sustained delivery of EBIs to middle school youth and their families in a state identified as ready for the model. Community teams in that state, supported by the PPM training and technical assistance (TA) infrastructure implemented family-focused and school-based EBIs for middle school students and their families with high levels of program fidelity. Results of the funded research suggest that the PPM can be a valuable approach for addressing the aforementioned translation gap, providing one avenue for broader dissemination of proven prevention programs to enhance public health. They also highlighted the importance of developing sustained capacity for high-quality data collection that allows for rigorous evaluation of PPM outcomes.

 

Principal Investigator: Richard Spoth

Funders:

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Annie E. Casey Foundation