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Selecting, Adapting, and Implementing Evidence-based Interventions in Rural Settings: An Analysis of 70 Community Examples
- Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 27, Number 4, November 2016 Supplement
- pp. 181-193
- 10.1353/hpu.2016.0179
- Article
- Additional Information
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Abstract:
Objective. This paper explores how communities translate evidence-based and promising health practices to rural contexts.
Methods. A descriptive, qualitative analysis was conducted using data from 70 grantees funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to implement evidence-based health practices in rural settings. Findings were organized using The Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation.
Results. Grantees broadly interpreted evidence-based and promising practices, resulting in the implementation of a patchwork of health-related interventions that fell along a spectrum of evidentiary rigor. The cohort faced common challenges translating recognized practices into rural community settings and reported making deliberate modifications to original models as a result.
Conclusion. Opportunities for building a more robust rural health evidence base include investments to incentivize evidence-based programming in rural settings; rural-specific research and theory-building; translation of existing evidence using a rural lens; technical assistance to support rural innovation; and prioritization of evaluation locally.