7. Developing an Intervention

mloewenstein Mon, 07/08/2013 - 11:23

This toolkit provides support for developing core components of a community intervention and adapting them for your context.

Identify the community problem/goal to be addressed and what needs to be done. Include:
1. Statement of the community problem/goal to be addressed
2. Specific behaviors of whom that need to change
3. Improvements in community-level outcomes that should result
  
  Related resources:
  Proclaiming Your Dream: Developing Vision and Mission Statements
  Creating Objectives
Assess the level of the problem or goal. Some types of assessment include:
1. Direct observation of the problem or goal
2. Conducting behavioral surveys
3. Interviewing key people in the community
4. Reviewing archival or existing records
  
  Related resources:
  Developing a Plan for Assessing Local Needs and Resources
  Collecting Information about the Problem
  Conducting Surveys
  Conducting Interviews
  Using Public Records and Archival Data
Describe the prioritized groups to benefit and those implementing the intervention. Include:
1. Targets of change or prioritized groups for whom behaviors or outcomes should change
2. Agents of change or those implementing the intervention
  
  Related resources:
  Identifying Targets and Agents of Change: Who Can Benefit and Who Can Help
Indicate how you will obtain input identifying and analyzing problems and goals to be addressed. Consider how you will use:
1. Personal contacts
2. Interviews
3. Focus groups
4. Community forums
5. Concerns surveys
  
  Related resources:
  An Introduction to the Problem-Solving Process
  Analyzing Root Causes of Problems: The "But Why?" Technique
  Conducting Interviews
  Conducting Focus Groups
  Conducting Public Forums and Listening Sessions
  Conducting Concerns Surveys
Analyze the problem or goal to be addressed. Use input to specify:
1. Who is affected by the issue, problem, or goal
2. The consequences for those directly affected as well as the broader community
3. Personal and environmental risk and protective factors to be influenced
4. The behavior or lack of behavior that causes or maintains the problem. What behaviors of whom need to change?
5. Who benefits and how from the situation staying the same (economically, politically)?
6. The conditions that need to change for the issue to be resolved
7. The appropriate level for the problem or goal to be addressed, and whether the organization has the capacity to influence such changes
  
  Related resources:
  Defining and Analyzing the Problem
  Collecting Information about the Problem
  Identifying Targets and Agents of Change: Who Can Benefit and Who Can Help
  Understanding Risk and Protective Factors: Their Use in Selecting Potential Targets and Promising Strategies for Intervention
  Identifying Strategies and Tactics for Reducing Risks
  Creating Objectives
Set goals and objectives for what "success" would look like.
1. What would success look like? How will the community or group be different if the intervention is successful?
2. What goals should the intervention accomplish? How will you know if your intervention is successful?
3. What objectives will the intervention achieve? What will change by how much and by when?
  
  Related resources:
  Creating Objectives
Identify and assess "best practices" or "evidence-based interventions" that could help address the problem or goal. Indicate:
1. Potential or promising “best practices” for your situation (consider various available databases and lists of “best” or evidence-based practices)
2. How strong is the evidence that each potential “best practice” caused the observed improvement rather than other associated conditions or potential influences?
3. Whether the “best practice” could achieve the desired results in your community
4. Whether the conditions (e.g., time, money, people, technical assistance) that affect success for the “best practice” are present
5. (Based on the assessment) The “best practice” or evidence-based approach to be tried in your situation (Note: If no “best practices” are known or appropriate to your situation, follow the steps below to design or adapt another intervention.)
  
  Related resources:
  Generating and Choosing Solutions
  Criteria for Choosing Promising Practices and Community Interventions
(Based on the assessment and literature) Specify the core components and elements of the intervention. Be specific about elements to be included for each of these five intervention components:
1. Providing information and enhancing skills (e.g., conduct a public information campaign to educate people about the problem or goal and how to address it)
2. Modifying access, barriers, exposures, and opportunities (e.g., increase availability of affordable childcare for those entering work force; reduce exposures to stressors)
3. Enhancing services and supports (e.g., increase the number of centers that provide health care)
4. Changing the consequences (e.g., provide incentives to develop housing in low-income areas)
5. Modifying policies and broader systems (e.g., change business or public policies to address the goal)
  
  Related resources:
  Creating Objectives
  Developing an Action Plan
  Providing Information and Enhancing Skills
  Modifying Access, Barriers, and Opportunities
  Changing the Physical and Social Environment
  Enhancing Support, Incentives, and Resources
  Changing Policies
Identify the mode of delivery through which each component and element of the intervention will be delivered in the community (e.g., workshops for skill training).

Related resources:
Developing an Action Plan
Putting Your Solution into Practice
Indicate how you will adapt the intervention or "best practice" to fit the needs and context of your community (e.g., differences in resources, cultural values, competence, language).

Related resources:
Adapting Community Interventions for Different Cultures and Communities
Designing Community Interventions
Develop an action plan for the intervention. Include:
1. What specific change or aspect of the intervention will occur?
2. Who will carry it out?
3. When the intervention will be implemented or how long it will be maintained?
4. Resources (money and staff) needed/ available?
5. Who should know what about this?
  
  Related resources:
  Developing an Action Plan
Pilot-test the intervention on a small scale. Determine how to:
1. Test the intervention and with whom
2. Assess the quality of implementation of the intervention
3. Assess results and consequences or side effects
4. Collect and use feedback to adapt and improve the intervention
Implement the intervention, and monitor and evaluate the process (e.g., quality of implementation, satisfaction) and outcomes (e.g., attainment of objectives).

Related resources:
A Framework for Program Evaluation: A Gateway to Tools

7. Developing an Intervention | Community Tool Box