Linking Sustainability Research to Intervention Types

Abstract

Researchers, funders, and managers of health programs and interventions have become concerned about their long-term sustainability. However, most research about sustainability has not considered the nature of the program to be sustained. Health-related interventions may differ in their likelihood of sustainability and in the factors likely to influence continuation. I suggest a framework for analyzing the sustainability of 6 types of interventions: (1) those implemented by individual providers; (2) programs requiring coordination among multiple staff; (3) new policies, procedures, or technologies; (4) capacity or infrastructure building; (5) community partnerships or collaborations; and (6) broad-scale system change. Hypotheses for future research and strategies that program managers might use to achieve sustainability also differ by program or intervention type.

Sustainability of ARV provision in developing countries: challenging a framework based on program history

“…Guidance by an explicit theoretical framework, adoption of clear working definitions, and use of adequate coherent-to-theory tools are pointed out as critical to further develop sustainability research and evaluation [13][14][15] . The choice for research strategy and the selection of factors to be investigated should be determined by the type of intervention.…”

“…The choice for research strategy and the selection of factors to be investigated should be determined by the type of intervention. Scheirer 15 proposes six different intervention types, including Interventions Requiring Coordination Among Multiple Staff. Aspects pertaining to the sustainability of this type of intervention comprise: administrative support; the role of program champions; culture and mission compatibility between the intervention and the organization; consonance of specific tasks related to the intervention with other organizational procedures; and continuity of financial resources.…”

“…Stirman et al 14 argue that the absence of a working definition of sustainability and of guidance by an explicit theoretical model is an important limitation to the body of research. Scheirer 15 suggests that the use of conceptual frameworks 16 , as well as in-depth assessments on program implementation, could help overcome limitations in sustainability studies.…”

Rethinking Research: Creating a Practice-Based Agenda for Sustainable Small-Scale Healthy Food Retail

“…Practice-based approaches to research can align with traditional approaches (Green, 2006), and as demonstrated by the research questions posed here, may well serve to catalyze change. As practitioners strengthen efforts to promote sustainable change in communities (Scheirer, 2013), program and research goals will require increasing alignment. Cross-sector collaboration is also likely to strengthen this approach.…”

Exploring User Acceptance of a Text-message Base Health Intervention among Young African Americans

“…However, to date, few studies have explored the use of text-message based interventions to promote sexual health (Bobrow et al, 2014;Cornelius & St. Lawrence, 2009;Cole-Lewis & Kershaw, 2010;Reback, 2014 Scheirer (2013) posits that understanding technology alone is not sufficient for developing a sustainable health intervention. In light of the sensitive nature of sexual health information, we posit that perceived risk and privacy concerns will also be salient predictors of information technology adoption (Babel, 2012;Chiasson, Reddy, Kaplan, & Davidson, 2007;Schaupp, Carter, & McBride, 2010).…”