A model for measuring the implementation of community support programs: results from three sites

Area of Science:

• Mental Health Services Research
• Implementation Science
• Program Evaluation

Background:

• Community Support Programs (CSPs) are vital for individuals with severe mental illnesses.
• Measuring CSP implementation is crucial for program improvement and replication.
• Existing methods may lack comprehensive frameworks for implementation analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present and validate a model for measuring CSP implementation.
• To identify key implementation variables across seven program functioning areas.
• To provide instruments for measuring these variables.

Main Methods:

• Developed a model defining seven areas of CSP implementation variables.
• Suggested measurement instruments for each variable.
• Applied the model and measures to three distinct CSPs.

Main Results:

• The model and measures demonstrated utility in analyzing CSP implementation.
• Findings largely supported pre-defined hypotheses regarding expected program differences.
• The study successfully illustrated the model's application in differentiating CSPs.

Conclusions:

• The developed model is effective for measuring CSP implementation.
• The model facilitates program description, replication, and analysis of critical components.
• The findings underscore the model's value in understanding variations across different CSPs.