ASPO Abstracts
How do cancer control practitioners make decisions about adopting evidence-based interventions?
Category: Behavioral Science & Health Communication
Conference Year: 2020
Abstract Body:
Although the Research Tested Intervention Programs (RTIPs) website has been a valued
resource in the cancer control community for the past 16 years, a recent evaluation report
suggested that practitioners want readily accessible information about how existing evidence-
based interventions (EBIs) could fit their context. In order to enhance the potential of RTIPs in
assisting program planners and public health practitioners working in cancer prevention and
control, we conducted formative research to inform the redevelopment of this valued resource.
Twenty semi-structured phone interviews, lasting 30 minutes were conducted with cancer control
practitioners from clinical and community practice settings across the U.S. Most of the
participants were females and reported having between 3-20 years of experience working in
cancer prevention and control.
Participants reported on seven specific themes (capacity, resources, alignment, population
needs, evidence, acceptability, and adaptation) when queried about how they decide whether to
adopt a particular evidence based intervention in their setting. The most important factors
reported were whether the EBI fit within the current capacity and resources of the practice setting.
Specific considerations included cost, available implementers, timeframe to implement, and
whether the EBI could be merged with existing workflows. Participants also reported that having
the goals of the EBI aligned with the underlying values of the organization and with the needs of
the populations they served, had an important influence on whether the EBI was chosen for
adoption by the leadership. Often the recommendations from national organizations strongly
influenced the uptake of EBIs. A few participants mentioned that it was important for
organizations to consider the acceptability of the EBI among the providers and the staff, before
adopting the EBI.
Findings provided important information for the redesign of the RTIPs website to help
practitioners in selecting from previously tested EBIs. The website is currently under redesign
with a launch date of early 2020. In addition, these findings also provide EBI developers
information on factors that they need to focus on, if they want EBIs to be widely implemented.
Keywords: Evidence-based interventions, adoption, implementation, cancer prevention and control