Implementing Evidence-Based Violence Prevention Strategies in Real World Settings

Background: With recent emphasis on evidence-based interventions (EBI’s) in violence prevention, practitioners face decisions about how to effectively implement EBIs in their real-world contexts.  Most research on EBI’s focuses on EBI developers’ perspectives (e.g., on fidelity) and their implementation experiences. The present study examines practitioners’ perspectives on implementing EBI’s in local settings.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative study of three EBI’s currently implemented in the violence prevention field. Study aims were to examine: practitioner characteristics; EBI adaptations; adaptation reasons, and practitioners’ communication with stakeholders about implementation practices.  The study included five focus groups with practitioners (N=24) implementing Triple P, 10 interviews with coaches implementing Coaching Boys Into Men, and document review and interviews with four sites implementing Youth Empowerment Solutions. We coded focus group and interview transcripts and adaptation logs and conducted thematic analyses within and across EBI’s.  

Results: Common adaptation reasons include EBI complexity, participant needs, time, and local context.  Practitioners may have multiple reasons for making an adaptation; conversely, they may make several adaptations to address a single perceived need (e.g., participant trauma). Practitioners do not always report adaptations due to funding concerns, time, and lack of communication channels.  Practitioners’ facilitation style, beliefs, and previous EBI experience influence their implementation practices beyond specific adaptations. 

Conclusions: Practitioners are essential to moving EBIs from research to practice.  However, their experiences often are not documented or shared. Establishing feedback loops between practitioners and other key stakeholders (e.g., developers, funders) as standard implementation practice could advance the spread of EBIs across settings.