Diffusion of Research Knowledge in Prevention: Focusing on the Important Role of Program Developers

Successful applications of prevention science to promote youth health and well-being requires that research knowledge be effectively translated and integrated into practice.  There is growing attention to understanding and increasing research use by community organizations who provide services and education for youth (e.g., schools, after-school programs, community mental health agencies, social service agencies, NGOs). This attention can be seen in efforts to persuade and sometimes mandate that community agencies and organizations use evidence-based programs and practices (EBPs).   However, barriers to adopting and implementing EBPs include: a limited availability of EBPs, difficulty finding and accessing EBP materials and information, high program costs, maintaining trained staff, and problems implementing and sustaining time and resource-intensive new practices by busy, under-funded agencies.  While research is addressing some of these barriers, too little attention has been paid to those who develop prevention programs and prevention tools.  This 20X20 presentation will explore some of the problems that exist on the program development side that need to be addressed, and possible options for improving practice.  Two types of program developers will be considered as examples: 1) university or research developers who are skilled at using research and good at designing EBPs, but often neglect issues of implementability and scalability; and 2) non-researcher developers who have success with implementation and scaling, but who lack skills or resources to integrate research and evaluation.  To highlight potential pathways for increasing the availability and usability of EBPs, case study examples will be offered illustrating how some programs are working to successfully combine research based practice, evaluation, implementability, and scalability.