Evaluating Equity-Centered Capacity-Building Programs to Strengthen Implementation Leadership in Southern U.S. HIV...

BackgroundIn the United States, Southern HIV service organizations (SHSOs) are well-positioned to deliver evidence-based interventions for people living with HIV. However, SHSO leaders often lack the necessary implementation leadership skills. This exploratory study evaluates changes in SHSO leaders' implementation leadership skills after participation in a capacity-building program.MethodsData were collected as part of the pre-/post-program evaluation from SHSO leaders who participated in a capacity-building program.ResultsParticipant data (n=98) were analyzed using two-way repeated measures ANOVA to examine changes in Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS) scores pre-/post-program participation. Within-subjects effects showed an overall significant difference in ILS scores between pre/post. Between-subjects effects showed no significant differences between programs on ILS scores. Within-subjects effects showed a significant interaction between time and program type on ILS scores. Results of the multivariate Wilks' lambda test also showed a significant time-by-program interaction on ILS scores.ConclusionFindings underscore the significance of equity-centered capacity-building efforts in bolstering the implementation leadership skills of organizational leaders and the need for continued investment in SHSOs.