S.1.05: Designs for Moving Research into Practice: Planting Seeds to Growing Programs
| Tuesday, May 21, 2024 |
| 8:25 AM - 9:40 AM |
| Room 215 |
|
Sponsored By:
Washington University in St. Louis
|
Details
Purpose: This symposium will explain the need for designing dissemination plans that successfully put evidence-based research into practice at the community level. We will describe a Designing for Dissemination and Sustainability (D4DS) organizational schema and apply its principles and methods to three unique community-based nutrition and physical activity programs that were developed and delivered through Texas A&M’s AgriLife Extension Service.
Rationale: Dissemination and implementation (D&I) science has been working for over twenty years to move research into practice. While we have seen some increase in getting evidence-based health innovations and strategies disseminated into communities and sustained over time, there is still wide opportunity for improvement. The D4DS approach includes designing interventions to match the contextual characteristics of the target audience and setting and designing them in a way that increases the likelihood of sustainment after initial implementation. The United States Cooperative Extension system has been in existence for over 100 years, and Extension agencies, with their own research faculty, are housed within land-grant universities in every state in the U.S. The system is an exemplar of dissemination that inspired original models like the Diffusion of Innovations Theory. The Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension Service is one of the largest programs in the U.S. with County Extension offices in 250 counties serving over 2 million Texans with innovative and science-based initiatives. Select AgriLife Extension health programs to promote physical activity and optimal nutrition can be used as case studies in describing how to design for dissemination so that impactful programs are grown and sustained.
Objectives:
1) Describe principles and methods of the D4DS framework and discuss potential enablers and challenges to its use in health promotion programs.
2) Describe how D4DS can be applied to a group-based physical activity program called Walk Across Texas.
3) Describe how D4DS can be applied to both youth and adult nutrition programs (Junior Master Gardener and Better Living for Texans).
Summary: Dr. Eyler will provide a brief history of dissemination and implementation research and describe the D4DS framework (10 minutes). Next, three presentations will apply the principles and methods of the framework to describe how three Texas-based initiatives were developed and delivered through a U.S. Extension system and then disseminated and grown over the decades into state, national, and internationally recognized programs: Walk Across Texas (15 minutes); Junior Master Gardener (15 minutes); and Better Living for Texans (15 minutes). The discussant, Dr. Kellstedt, will comment on the presentation (5 minutes) and moderate a discussion (15 minutes).
Speaker
Chair
Biography
Discussant
Biography
Design for Dissemination and Sustainability: Junior Master Gardener Program’s Implementation Success Stories Using the Learn, Grow, Eat & GO! Curriculum
Abstract
Purpose: Learn, Grow, Eat & GO! (LGEG) is a youth program within the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service International Junior Master Gardener (JMG) program. LGEG is a 10-week academically rich and school-based curriculum that incorporates evidence-based practices supported by a 5-year randomized controlled trial. It combines interdisciplinary elements of garden science, nutrition, food preparation, vegetable tastings, and physical activity designed to improve child, family, and school community health and wellness outcomes. Currently, the JMG program is implemented in all 50 U.S. states and in 10 countries. The purpose of this session is to apply the Designing for Dissemination and Sustainability (D4DS) framework to the LGEG program.
Methods: The D4DS approach, with Conceptualization, Design, Dissemination, and Impact phases, aims to design interventions to match the contextual characteristics of the target audience to increase dissemination and sustainability. This presentation will highlight and examine examples from the LGEG program within each D4DS phase while also analyzing the topics, issues, and trends which have guided dissemination and sustainability since the program’s conceptualization.
Results: Conceptualization will assess the need and demand for the LGEG program during its development phase. The program design reflects the significant transformations which occurred as the LGEG program’s goals grew to include the following: reach diverse audiences, reflect AgriLife Extension’s mission, develop resources, and continually strengthen the strategic direction of JMG’s reach into communities statewide, nationally, and internationally. The dissemination phase will identify how LGEG effectively reaches under-resourced populations. Finally, the impact phase will highlight the involvement of Extension staff, volunteers, schools, and school district personnel, community-based organizations, and community leaders. Each of these pivotal phases will illustrate the evolution of the LGEG program from a practice-based initiative to an evidence-based approach that serves as a model of enhanced dissemination and long-term sustainability.
Conclusions: The LGEG program’s successful dissemination and sustainability reflects the mission of JMG and AgriLife Extension to invest in evidence-based solutions to enhance the health and wellness of children and families locally, nationally, and internationally. This program case study, with the application of the D4DS framework, highlights how to effectively grow and sustain a program with global reach.
Biography
Design for Dissemination and Sustainability: Application of Best Practices from the Better Living for Texans Program
Abstract
Purpose: Better Living for Texans (BLT), a U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service and Texas Health and Human Service Commission federally funded nutrition education program, is implemented through the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Since 1995, Extension agents, educators, and volunteers have partnered with schools, faith-based organizations, and non-profits to provide BLT programs at no charge to families receiving and eligible to receive benefits from the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Offered in 180 of Texas’s 254 counties, agents and educators identify and plan with partners to deliver 13 different practice, research, and evidence-based nutrition, physical activity, and gardening curriculums. This presentation will address how the Designing for Dissemination and Sustainability (D4DS) framework applies to BLT.
Methods: The D4DS four phase framework, Conceptualization, Design, Dissemination, and Impact, includes participant and partnership voices in all aspects of intervention design, implementation, and evaluation. Identifying the needs, strengths, and areas for improvement influences best practices to impact positive behavior change and partnership suitability. This presentation will highlight examples from the BLT program within each phase and examine topics, issues, and trends that have guided dissemination and sustainability for nearly 30 years.
Results: From the initial pilot to the current reach across Texas, the BLT program responds to the needs identified by agents, partners, and participants and provides programs relevant to low-income individuals and families. Additionally, agents track impacts through a statewide reporting portal that provides impact reports for the BLT program team to share with local, state, and federal funders, partners, and stakeholders. Connecting the D4DS phases to the evolution and continued development of the BLT program is essential to the relevancy, dissemination, and long-term program sustainability.
Conclusions: The dissemination, sustainability, and success of the BLT program reflects the missions of AgriLife Extension and our funders while providing evidence-based nutrition, health, and wellness knowledge to empower individuals, families, and communities to make positive changes for healthier lives. The impacts of the BLT program and application of the D4DS framework highlights best practices for a national nutrition education program implemented in a state with a large and diverse population.
Biography
Design for Dissemination and Sustainability: Lessons Learned from 25 Years of Walk Across Texas Program Implementation
Abstract
Purpose: Walk Across Texas (WAT) is an eight-week, web-based physical activity program designed to help Texans be more active. Through the team-based approach, participants are encouraged with friendly competition to virtually walk across the state of Texas. Locally sponsored activities and events are facilitated by Extension agents, but the program allows for year-round participation using a full-service web platform called Howdy Health (https://howdyhealth.tamu.edu). Since 1996, more than 700,000 participants have started their virtual WAT journey to achieve and maintain an active lifestyle. The purpose of this session is to apply the Designing for Dissemination and Sustainability (D4DS) framework to the WAT program.
Methods: The D4DS approach includes designing interventions to match the contextual characteristics of the target audience in a way that increases the likelihood of sustainment after initial implementation. The D4DS framework describes four phases to design for dissemination. The phases include Conceptualization, Design, Dissemination, and Impact. This presentation will highlight case study examples from the WAT program within each phase and examine topics, issues, and trends that have guided dissemination and sustainability for over 25 years.
Results: Conceptualization will explore the need and demand for the WAT program during its development phase. The Design phase will highlight the significant transformations that took place as goals, priorities, resources, and the strategic direction of AgriLife Extension have evolved. The Dissemination phase will include how the WAT program effectively reaches its intended audience of participants with current low- or no-activity levels. Finally, the Impact phase will elucidate the involvement of local leaders, which includes both internal staff and external volunteers. Each of these pivotal phases will be examined to illustrate the evolution of the WAT program from a practice-based initiative to an evidence-based approach. The result is the continued development of a program with enhanced dissemination and long-term sustainability in mind.
Conclusions: The successful program dissemination and sustainability with the implementation of WAT reflects AgriLife Extension’s mission and investment into evidence-based solutions to enhance the health and wellness of Texans. This program case study, and the application of the D4DS framework, highlights important lessons for researchers and practitioners alike.
Biography
Chair
Discussant
