Next generation of preventive interventions

Abstract

Objective: With increasing numbers of efficacious prevention programs, the field needs strategies to disseminate the interventions broadly.

Method: The authors examined the life course of prevention programs, identified barriers to dissemination, and outlined an alternative dissemination model.

Results: Private enterprise models of product development can be viable strategies for increasing the dissemination of the intervention to the general public. Market principles suggest that the next generation of interventions would be facilitated if interventions are initiated by teams committed to a specific problem and investigators receive training in management; if the acceptability of the program's design features to consumers, providers, and funding agencies is established prior to the development and evaluation of the program; if data from national marketing surveys are used to tailor intervention designs and delivery formats for different subgroups; if essential ingredients of the intervention are identified to facilitate adaptation of the program; if the program is implemented with a goal to maintain change over extended periods of time; if the implementation plan includes program evolution over time, rather than replication with fidelity; and if interventions are branded and certified by a credible agency.

Conclusions: Private enterprise models may be useful; however, investigators are likely to be resistant given a priori biases, potential ethical conflicts of interest, and the challenges presented by new technologies (e.g., the Internet and Human Genome Project).