Translating a research intervention into community practice: the nurse family partnership

Public policy initiatives have begun to recommend that interventions have strong evidence of effectiveness before there is expenditure of restrained public funds. The Nurse Family Partnership (NFP), a home visiting program for low-income parents expecting their first child, has been identified as a preventive intervention program that meets high evidentiary standards based on results from three randomized trials. Strategies used to promote successful translation of the research intervention into clinical practice, findings from the evaluation of the replication of the NFP in 22 states, and challenges experienced in moving a research program to practice are discussed. EDITORS' STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS: Policymakers, community public health officials, and researchers planning to disseminate their prevention programs will find many lessons in this example of bringing a model program (i.e., a prevention strategy that works) up to scale. Although results at replication sites are somewhat weaker than at model sites, the consistent positive outcomes are a testimony to the strength of the NFP model and the fidelity of its implementation across sites.