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Sustaining Evidence-based Interventions Under Real-world Conditions: Results from a Large-scale Diffusion Project

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Abstract

This study examined factors associated with the predicted and actual post-funding sustainability of evidence-based interventions implemented as part of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s Research-Based Delinquency and Violence Prevention Initiative. Correlates of predicted post-funding sustainability included program staff, overall school support, and school administrator support. Additionally, predicted post-funding sustainability was strongly associated with actual post-funding sustainability. Other correlates of actual post-funding sustainability included financial sustainability planning and aligning the intervention with the goals of the agency/school. Five years post-funding 33% of the interventions were no longer operating, 22% were operating at a reduced level, and 45% were operating at the same level or a higher level than the final year of funding. These findings are discussed in terms of implications for increasing intervention sustainability, as well as implications for future research on intervention sustainability.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by grants from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and NIH Award Number F31 DA024535. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of Health.

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Correspondence to Melissa K. Tibbits.

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Tibbits, M.K., Bumbarger, B.K., Kyler, S.J. et al. Sustaining Evidence-based Interventions Under Real-world Conditions: Results from a Large-scale Diffusion Project. Prev Sci 11, 252–262 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-010-0170-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-010-0170-9

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