Applying Community-Engaged Intervention Mapping to Preparing Nurse Scientists.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Public Health
• Health Behavior Research

Background:

• Chronic illness prevention and management require interventions that address behaviors, environmental factors, and personal determinants.
• Multilevel, theory-based interventions are crucial for mitigating illness onset, burden, and poor outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a foundation for multilevel interventions.
• To describe community-engaged intervention mapping as a method for designing theory-based interventions.
• To discuss the benefits of this approach for preparing nurse scientists in interdisciplinary chronic illness research.

Main Methods:

• Community-engaged intervention mapping integrates intervention mapping and community-engaged research.
• The six-step intervention mapping approach provides a framework for intervention design, adaptation, and implementation.
• Community-engaged research principles guide stakeholder involvement throughout the research process.

Main Results:

• Integrating these methods maintains intervention's theoretical integrity.
• Research relevance, timely completion, and product utility are improved.
• Community understanding, trust, and use of research findings are enhanced.

Conclusions:

• Preparation in community-engaged intervention mapping offers significant benefits for nurse scientists and nursing science.
• This approach facilitates explicit consideration of multilevel health influences.
• It enhances theoretical fidelity, clarifies change mechanisms, and improves intervention relevance and feasibility for beneficiaries and adopters.