142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Not lost in translation: Guiding adaptations of the Youth Empowerment Solutions Curriculum

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 11:10 AM - 11:30 AM

Susan Morrel-Samuels, MA, MPH , MI Youth Violence Prevention Center, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Marc Zimmerman, PhD , Prevention Research Center of Michigan, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Peter M. Hutchison , Prevention Research Center of Michigan, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Leah Perkinson, MPH , Division of Violence Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Caroline Lippy, PhD , Division of Violence Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Brittany Bostic, BA , Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Background: A challenge of implementing health education curricula in diverse contexts is preserving the integrity of interventions while adapting them to local conditions. Youth Empowerment Solutions (YES) is an evidenced-based intervention (EBI) that prepares adolescents to assess their communities and to design and implement improvement projects to prevent violence.  YES is being implemented in four cities participating in the CDC-funded STRYVE initiative (Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere).  We will discuss how core components tools are facilitating implementation and describe data being used to identify adaptations that enrich or dilute core components.

Methods: In partnership with the CDC Foundation, YES developers created tools that connect the curriculum’s theoretical framework to its core components: essential messages, activities, delivery methods and implementer characteristics believed to be critical to its effectiveness.  These tools provide the rationale for each curriculum session and serve as guides for potential adaptations that preserve the core intent of the intervention.

Results: All implementing sites received training that included discussions of the theoretical model and the core components.  Each site is documenting its adaptations and the responses of the intervention participants. The developers are using these data to assess the effects of adaptations and to inform training, technical assistance, implementation and adaptation guidance documents.

Conclusions: The essence of EBIs may be lost in translation when they are adapted to meet the needs of diverse communities. Tools that connect EBIs’ theories with their core components can help implementers preserve and build upon the essential elements while tailoring programs to their own contexts.

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
Describe the theoretical model underlying the YES curriculum. Describe how to connect a health behavior theory to the core components of a curriculum. Differentiate adaptations that preserve core components from those that deviate from the intent of the curriculum.

Keyword(s): Evidence-Based Practice, Youth Violence

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a co-investigator for the Youth Empowerment Solutions study funded by NIH and am one of the developers of the curriculum. I am co-leading a project to study adaptations of the curriculum in four sites nationally. I have over 20 years of experience in violence prevention as a practitioner and researcher.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.