Session: Measuring Implementation in Context: Improving Precision in Measurement to Inform Type II Transitional Research (Society for Prevention Research 21st Annual Meeting)

A central theme of Type II translational research is implementation quality and the use of supports to optimize implementation, regardless of the evidence-based program (EBP) or context. Yet the field of implementation science has struggled to define valid and reliable measures of implementation quality. Much of the extant implementation measurement research has been program specific, thereby developing specific measures for each intervention. Yet there is a movement toward tiered prevention models and data-driven, menu-based program selection processes, such as Communities that Care, where multiple programs may be implemented simultaneously.  As a result, practitioners often experience frustration attempting to monitor program integrity in the face of multiple, often disparate, implementation efforts. In order to advance the field of implementation science, there needs to be greater precision with regard to measurement. This panel considers a series of research questions in three states related to various aspects of implementation measurement using a mixed methods approach.  The first paper considers the complexities of schools, where there is a growing emphasis on tiered prevention efforts, yet limited consideration of how best to assess implementation across the tiers. The authors provide data from a 58 high school randomized controlled trial using a data-driven menu-based approach, in which schools choose to implement EBPs across the three prevention tiers. They report quantitative findings from a set of measures created to simultaneously and efficiently assess critical features of multiple EBPs. The second paper further explores the influence of context by reporting findings from multiple service settings, including the juvenile justice and school systems. The focus of this presentation is on identifying common approaches to measuring implementation quality across contexts. This paper also highlights the complexities associated with identifying universal indicators of implementation quality.  The third paper summarizes two related studies focused on implementation within the context of scale-up efforts. Presenting data from these two studies, the authors highlight the challenges and opportunities associated with measuring implementation in the context of dissemination efforts and lessons learned through that process. A leading expert in Type II translational research will serve as a discussant, highlighting common themes related to measurement and context across the three papers.  Taken together, this panel will help advance the dialogue related to the measurement of implementation, which spans both context and multiple EBPs.