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

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.