Purpose-This paper describes and reflects on an effort to document, through a set of six interventions, the process of adapting effective youth risk behavior interventions for new settings. It provides insights into how this might best be accomplished. It discusses six studies funded by NIH starting in 1999. The studies were funded in response to a Request for Applications [RFA] to replicate HIV prevention interventions for youth. Researchers were to select an HIV risk reduction intervention program shown to be effective in one adolescent population and to replicate it in a new community or different adolescent population. This was to be done while systematically documenting those processes and aspects of the intervention hypothesized to be critical to the development of community-based, culturally sensitive programs. The replication was to assess the variations necessary to gain cooperation, implement a locally feasible and meaningful intervention, and evaluate the outcomes in the new setting.Methods-This paper lays out the rationale for this initiative and describes the goals and the approaches to adaptation of the funded researchers.Corresponding author: Susan F Newcomer, NICHD, Building 61E, room 8B7G, Bethesda MD 20892 301-435-6981 newcomes@mail.nih.gov Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Results-The paper discusses issues relevant to all interventions, those unique to replication and to these replications in particular. It then reflects on the processes and the consequences of the adaptations. It does not address the further challenges in taking a successful intervention "to scale."
NIH Public AccessAuthor Manuscript J Adolesc Health. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2008 June 1.Conclusions-Replications of effective interventions face all of the challenges of implementation design plus additional challenges of balancing fidelity to the original intervention and sensitivity to the needs of new populations.