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SELECT, ADAPT, EVALUATE
Assessing Fit of an Approach
Assessing Fit of an Approach
Once you identify and understand the essential elements, you can assess whether an approach is a good fit for the delivery setting or context. You will also be able to identify the types of changes, if any, that can be made to increase fit. You can use this information both to help decide which approach to select and guide delivery once selected.
When considering which approach to select, you may want to examine a number of factors related to the approach itself, including the following:
- Strength and quality of evidence of its effectiveness
- Availability of implementation guidance and evaluation tools
- Amount of training and technical assistance needed to successfully deliver the approach
- Cost of adopting and sustaining the approach
- History of implementation in similar communities and contexts
- Economic, social, and other unique challenges to achieving health within the community
BEFORE
an approach has been selected
Practitioners can use essential elements to determine fit between the approach and a delivery setting or context. The better the fit, the more likely that the approach will be successful and sustainable, and the less likely organizations will need to significantly adapt the approach.
AFTER
an approach has been selected
Practitioners can use essential elements to help guide changes or adaptations, if any, to increase fit. Changes that support essential elements will increase the likelihood that the approach will be successful and sustainable.
Finding a Program or Approach
Explore the CDC's Violence Prevention in Practice Approach Search tool to find a violence prevention approach for your community.
The list below has additional program and approach registries to find more information about a specific program. After selecting one or more programs, you can assess fit, make adaptations, and then evaluate these adaptations.
- : A directory of intervention and programs filterable by evidence rating, extent of evidence, topic/subtopic, program type, delivery setting, geographic location, race/ethnicity, target population, age, and gender.
- : A comprehensive registry of scientifically proven and scalable interventions that prevent or reduce the likelihood of antisocial behavior and promote a healthy course of youth development and adult maturity.
After selecting one or more programs, you can assess fit, make adaptations, and then evaluate these adaptations. Please refer to the worksheet Assessing Fit for Programs and Community and Societal Approaches Worksheet [106 KB, 1 Page, 508] to consider which essential elements of potential approaches can be supported in your context and identify how to increase fit by making changes, or adaptations, if necessary, that support the essential elements.
The Approach Fit
After you identify an approach, consider the fit between the essential elements and the context in which the approach will be implemented. Fit may be defined as the appropriateness or compatibility of an approach for the context and community. Understanding that if an approach fits, it includes assessing how well the approach aligns with a community's strengths and needs, values, culture, history, other initiatives and priorities, and internal resources to implement the approach. Understanding the social determinants of health, the conditions where people live, work, play and learn, can also help assess fit of an approach.
The cards below provide examples of how essential elements can be used to assess the fit of an approach in each context.
Click on the cards below to see examples.
WHAT
Participant or community needs and strengths
Click on this button to reveal the fit.
HOW
Existing organizational capacity (e.g., staff, time, and resources)
Click on this button to reveal the fit.
WHO
Skills, values, and experience of current or future partners and staff
Click on this button to reveal the fit.
Assess the Fit
After VetoVille partners determined the essential elements of their skill-building program, they assessed the fit of existing sexual violence prevention program materials. After assessing the fit, the partners proposed adaptations to improve the program for the school environment.
- The WHAT essential element of “building knowledge of students” is a good fit because relationship skills in students was a need identified by the community, and there is evidence that relationship skills—such as positive communication—protect against sexual violence in adolescents. The partners also decided to make an adaptation to add a topic around sexual health to create a more comprehensive program.
- For the HOW element of “using recommended teaching methods”, the partners decided to propose adjustments to language and examples that fit the age and interests of the student population and increasing parent buy-in for the curriculum.
- The WHO essential element of “teacher facilitators who students trust and respect” is a good fit because such teachers can improve student interest and engagement in the material.
Assessing Fit of an Approach Key Takeaways
- Essential elements can be used to assess how well an approach will fit the delivery context, informing the selection of an approach.
- After an approach has been selected, essential elements can help identify how to increase the fit, by making changes or adaptations.