Scaling Up Implementation Support for Violence Prevention and Resilience Promotion in the Air Force

Area of Science:

• Implementation Science
• Public Health Program Management
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Bridging the gap between research and practice is crucial for organizational improvement.
• The Department of the Air Force (DAF) aims to increase adoption of evidence-based violence prevention and resilience programs.
• Scaling up evidence-based programs requires effective implementation support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the scale-up of evidence-based prevention programs within the DAF using Getting To Outcomes (GTO).
• To identify critical tasks and unique supports necessary for scaling up implementation support for evidence-based prevention.
• To provide lessons learned for large-scale implementation efforts.

Main Methods:

• Training personnel across all Air Force installations globally on the Getting To Outcomes (GTO) methodology.
• Collecting quantitative data via training questionnaires and implementation plan ratings.
• Gathering qualitative data through interviews with resilience personnel.

Main Results:

• Getting To Outcomes (GTO) facilitated the scale-up of prevention programs across the DAF.
• Critical tasks for successful scale-up include securing leadership buy-in, simplifying program selection/adaptation, monitoring progress, and establishing dedicated prevention roles.
• Unique supports identified include multitiered learning systems, integrated data tools, skilled personnel, and continuous learning.

Conclusions:

• The DAF's large-scale implementation of GTO demonstrates its effectiveness in scaling evidence-based prevention.
• Leadership commitment, streamlined processes, and dedicated roles are vital for successful program dissemination.
• Sustained efforts require ongoing learning, robust data systems, and skilled implementation support personnel.