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Adopting an Evidence-Based Lifestyle Physical Activity Program: Dissemination Study Design and Methods
Andrea L Dunn1, David B Buller, James W Dearing
1Klein Buendel, Inc.
Translational Behavioral Medicine
|November 28, 2012
Summary
Academic-commercial partnerships can disseminate physical activity programs effectively. This study examined the Active Living Every Day (ALED) program, finding that adopters were more involved in decision-making, while many controls remained unaware of ALED.
Area of Science:
- Public Health Promotion
- Health Behavior Dissemination
- Academic-Commercial Partnerships
Background:
- Limited research exists on academic-commercial partnerships for disseminating evidence-based physical activity programs.
- Academic institutions increasingly explore these partnerships due to declining resources and the commercial sector's advanced dissemination strategies.
- Understanding organizational and sector-level influences on program adoption and implementation is crucial for public health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe a retrospective case-control study design evaluating the Active Living Every Day (ALED) program's dissemination.
- To examine ALED's marketing strategy, adoption, and implementation rates through academic-commercial partnerships.
- To identify factors influencing the adoption and implementation of evidence-based public health programs.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective case-control study surveyed 801 participants (154 cases, 319 active controls, 328 passive controls) who licensed the ALED program between 2001-2008.
- Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DIT) constructs guided the survey development.
- A multi-method strategy was employed for data collection, with stratified matching by sector and region.
Main Results:
- Significantly higher response rates were observed from government, educational, and medical sectors compared to fitness and other sectors (p=0.02).
- Cases were significantly more involved in the decision to adopt ALED (p<0.0001).
- A low percentage of controls had heard of ALED, and only slightly over half of adopters reported implementing the program.
Conclusions:
- Dissemination research requires innovative designs and perspectives to yield valid insights.
- The study design, survey methods, and theoretically-based questions offer a model for evaluating other evidence-based public health interventions.
- Understanding adoption and implementation challenges is key for effective commercial marketing of public health programs.
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