Development of an adapted glossary of implementation strategies for supporting behavioral health program uptake in...

Formal compilations of implementation strategies like the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC; 1) are relevant for planning and evaluating implementation initiatives. The relationship between these strategies and the particulars of a specific initiative is not always clear, particularly when implementation occurs outside of organized healthcare settings. The present study reports on the process used to develop an adapted glossary of ERIC strategies for implementing evidence-based health promotion programs in African American churches.

A glossary adaptation team composed of academics and community representatives met twice a month for six months to adapt implementation strategy definitions to fit the context of the present project. Collaborative discussions were held until consensus was reached for each strategy. This project-adapted glossary was then subjected to coding to document the types of changes that occurred during the adaptation process.

The glossary adaptation team collectively dedicated 99.5 person-hours to the meetings to obtain consensus for the strategies. The final strategy glossary retained 64 strategies relevant to the project, with 84.4% of strategies involving some level of adaptation. Most of the adaptation involved specifying project-specific actors, specifying that the innovation involved evidence-based health promotion programs, and noting the role the project's technical assistance team serves in supporting congregations during implementation.

Adapting implementation strategy definitions to a specific project is a time-intensive process that challenges a team to carefully and creatively consider how strategies may be enacted in a specific context (e.g., faith-based communities). The consensus-based process also served as a type of cultural exchange between the project's academic partners, community partners, and consultants. The development of a project-specific glossary leverages the ability of project team members to employ implementation strategies as part of project planning and evaluation.