11b. Examples of Population Health Intervention Adaptations to Meet Community Needs  

The Intervention Mapping (IM) model documented in your textbook can be used to guide the adaptation of evidence-based population health interventions.

Case Studies

1. Pages 629-642 of your textbook outline how the IM model was applied to adapt a mammography screening program to better meet the needs of a low-income, ethnoracially diverse community in Houston, Texas.
2. Here’s a Canadian example outlining the process for adapting a home visiting program in accordance with community-level considerations.¹  Although the researchers didn’t follow the IM process, you can see some common steps/considerations:
   Adapting, piloting and evaluating complex public health interventions: lessons learned from the Nurse–Family Partnership in Canadian public health settings

As you’re reading these two case studies of intervention modification, think about the following questions. We’ll be sharing our thoughts about these questions in our final discussion this week.

1. What are some of the key challenges associated with adapting an intervention for a specific community while ensuring the effectiveness of the intervention?
2. What can be done to overcome these challenges?
3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Intervention Mapping (IM) as a model for adapting population health initiatives to local communities?

Over the course of completing your iterative assignment, did you encounter instances where one of the interventions in your framework would have to be modified or tailored in response to community needs/conditions? If so, what steps did you take to address this?