Adaptations in the Context of COVID-19: Application of an Implementation Science FRAMEwork

Abstract

Invest in Kids (IIK) is a Denver, Colorado, USA-based intermediary organization that works to bridge the research-to-practice gap for programs that support Colorado’s youngest children and their families. IIK supports evidence-based programs (EBPs) including three universal, prevention programs from The Incredible Years® (IY)—Dinosaur School (a classroom curriculum), Teacher Classroom Management (teacher professional development training), and Parent Program (parent training). IIK employs staff (the IIK–IY Team) to deliver implementation supports such as training, coaching, and managing implementation teams with professionals at schools and community agencies who deliver IY programs throughout Colorado. The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges and opportunities for practitioners using EBPs, and for the IIK–IY Team. The Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications—Expanded, known as the FRAME (Stirman et al., 2019), was identified as a useful tool for documenting information about COVID-19-related adaptations to local sites’ delivery of the programs, IIK’s implementation supports, and IIK’s annual statewide evaluation of IY. This case study includes an in-depth description of the various adaptations made by the IIK–IY Team, highlighting specific examples that demonstrate how the FRAME can be used to support adaptations for numerous sites in a geographic region or state. This case study provides important lessons about what successful IY delivery and implementation supports looked like in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including a description of IY fidelity and program outcomes.

Using FRAME to characterize provider‐identified adaptations to a stepped care intervention for adolescents and youth living with HIV in Kenya: a mixed methods approach

“…Our analysis characterized provider-identified adaptations across 12 HIV care clinics in western Kenya using FRAME, an adaptation framework previously applied across multiple disciplines, populations and settings [38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. FRAME uses a systematic approach to understand how adaptations improve contextual fit, and improve relevance of intervention content.…”

“…Intervention adaptability is a potential facilitator of implementation success and determinant‐informing strategies for scale‐up and scale‐out to new settings and populations [37]. Our analysis characterized provider‐identified adaptations across 12 HIV care clinics in western Kenya using FRAME, an adaptation framework previously applied across multiple disciplines, populations and settings [38–51]. FRAME uses a systematic approach to understand how adaptations improve contextual fit, and improve relevance of intervention content.…”

The Implementation Experience of COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Testing in a Large-Scale Construction Project in Victoria, Australia

“…In assessing interventions, the use of an implementation framework to guide the approach where adaptations are applied can help to both strengthen the intervention fidelity (the degree to which the intervention is implemented as intended) and implementation fidelity (the degree to which strategies that support the implementation of an intervention were used as intended). This, in turn, is likely to lead to better outcomes and the sustainability of implementation (Albrecht et al, 2022 ).…”

Proceedings from the Second Annual Conference of the Norwegian Network for Implementation Research

“…Therefore, reaching policymakers with updated knowledge about implementation science may influence policy priorities and, in turn, facilitate improved conditions for dedicated implementation research and implementation capacity building across Norwegian health and welfare settings. The presentations at the second annual NIMP conference included themes often present at implementation conferences, and that commonly occur in contemporary implementation studies internationally, such as stakeholder engagement (Triplett et al, 2022), evaluations of the implementation of specific interventions (Strehlenert et al, 2015), the use of implementation guidelines and frameworks (Albrecht et al, 2022), and barriers and facilitators for implementation (Chen et al, 2022), such as organizational and contextual determinants. Fewer presentations than in the 2020 NIMP conference focused on barriers and facilitators for implementing interventions (Engell et al, 2021) and more on the multi-level strategies and mechanisms that drive effective implementation.…”