A protocol for designing online training to support the implementation of community-based interventions

• Published in: Evaluation and program planning 2019-02, Vol.72, p.77-87
• Main Authors: Gavarkovs, Adam G., Blunt, Wendy, Petrella, Robert J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Best practice; Community Relations; Community service; Community-based interventions; Community-based programs; Dissemination; Evidence; Health education; Information dissemination; Instructional Design; Interdisciplinary aspects; Intervention; Lifestyles; Online instruction; Online methods; Public health; Teaching Models; Training; Training Methods
• ISSN: 0149-7189; 1873-7870
• DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2018.10.013

•Training content should be informed directly by the tasks that define fidelity.•Conducting an analysis of program implementers will identify capacity gaps.•Training design is a combination of learning theory and appropriate technologies.•Evaluation at multiple levels of impact is needed to fully explain effectiveness. Training program implementers through online methods represents a way of facilitating the widespread implementation of community-based interventions that is more financially and logistically feasible than traditional in-person training methods. However, there are few evidence-informed protocols or models that can guide the development of online training content in a way that is consistent with instructional best practices. This paper presents an evidence-informed protocol for developing a training website, or online training platform, to support the implementation of community-based interventions at scale, which was informed by a critical analysis of the instructional design literature and our experiences developing an online training platform for the HealtheStepsTM Lifestyle Prescription Program. The protocol is an operationalization of the ADDIE model of instructional design, and details the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation stages of the process. Examples from the HealtheStepsTM program are used to illustrate the use of the protocol in practice. The protocol emphasizes the need for rigorous analysis of the target audience and a multidisciplinary literature base drawing from instructional design and implementation science. It can be used by researchers to guide the development of online training platforms to support the widespread implementation of evidence-based health interventions, thus increasing their public health impact.