Real-world public health interventions demonstrate how research evidence informs program scale-up

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Behavior Interventions
• Obesity Research

Background:

• Evidence-based public health interventions require rigorous testing for efficacy and effectiveness.
• Real-world interventions targeting obesity and related behaviors are crucial for public health improvement.
• Understanding the characteristics of interventions and their research pathways is vital for optimizing public health strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the characteristics of real-world public health interventions for obesity.
• To determine the extent of research testing (efficacy and effectiveness trials) prior to the scale-up of these interventions.
• To compare interventions that followed a research pathway with those that did not.

Main Methods:

• Identified 90 population health interventions focused on physical activity, nutrition, or obesity-related behaviors.
• Collected publicly available data on intervention characteristics and outcomes.
• Assessed differences between interventions based on whether they followed a research pathway using univariate logistic regression.

Main Results:

• Two-thirds (60) of interventions reported following a research pathway.
• Interventions with a research pathway were more likely to be health education, developed by research institutes, and delivered in North America.
• These interventions were also more likely to have a positive impact on population health (OR: 2.72; 95% CI: 1.04-7.14).
• Research pathways did not increase the likelihood of intervention sustainability.

Conclusions:

• Significant differences exist in the organizational and environmental contexts of interventions based on their research pathway.
• A research pathway to scale-up is associated with a greater positive impact on population health outcomes.
• Future research should explore factors influencing the sustainability of scaled-up public health interventions.