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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Laura Gitlin, PhD and Nancy Chernett, MPH. Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health, Thomas Jefferson University, 130 S. 9th Street Suite 500, Philadelphia, PA 19103, 215-503-2790, Nancy.Chernett@jefferson.edu

Harvest Health, an interdisciplinary collaboration between an Area Agency for Aging, a senior center, a health care provider and a research institution translated and evaluated an evidence-based health program (Lorig's Chronic Disease Self-Management Program) for 500 community-dwelling African American elders. Its translation involved naming and framing the program differently and augmenting the program with informational points that reflected the unique concerns of the target population. To monitor and assure treatment fidelity (TF), we used Lichstein et al. (1994) framework that considers three components: treatment delivery which refers to methodologies for providing the intervention (didactic versus hands-on training); treatment receipt which refers to whether an intervention is received (dose, intensity), and knowledge acquired by participants; and treatment enactment which refers to participant integration or use of intervention strategies. A range of methodologies were used to evaluate TF including direct observation of group sessions by an independent evaluator, post-test survey of participants, and session-by-session evaluation by group leaders of dose and enactment of behavioral strategies. Results indicate that 88% of participants received an adequate number of group sessions with 96% reporting continued use of disease self-management strategies two months after completing the program. Evaluation results suggest it is possible to implement a chronic disease self management program with elderly African Americans and retain treatment fidelity. The retention of healthy behaviors is promising.

Learning Objectives:

• Define treatment fidelity in the translation of evidence-based intervention programs.
• Describe a model of treatment fidelity from which to monitor and evaluate the treatment fidelity of a program.
• Discuss methods of maintaining and measuring treatment fidelity in programs that are adapted for specific populations.

Keywords: Health Promotion,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered

Handout (.ppt format, 160.5 kb)