A flexible framework for planning and evaluating early-stage health interventions: FRAME-IT

Area of Science:

• Health intervention research
• Evaluation frameworks
• Public health

Background:

• Health interventions progress through early, mid, and late stages of maturity.
• Existing evaluation frameworks lack constructs for early-stage interventions, hindering innovation.
• Early-stage interventions require specific planning and evaluation for refinement before wider dissemination.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce the Feasibility, Reach-out, Acceptability, Maintenance, Efficacy, Implementation, Tailorability (FRAME-IT) framework.
• Provide a framework complementary to RE-AIM for early-stage intervention evaluation.
• Support planning, comprehensive evaluation, and future scalability of novel health interventions.

Main Methods:

• Development of the FRAME-IT framework.
• Application in a mixed-methods feasibility study of a novel well-being intervention.
• Adaptation of constructs from the RE-AIM framework.

Main Results:

• FRAME-IT guides early-stage intervention planning and design.
• The framework incorporates constructs like feasibility, acceptability, and tailorability for comprehensive evaluation.
• FRAME-IT facilitates smoother translation of research into practice for scaled-up interventions.

Conclusions:

• FRAME-IT is a valuable tool for evaluating early-stage health interventions.
• The framework enhances the planning, design, and refinement of novel interventions.
• FRAME-IT promotes the scalability and implementation of health interventions.