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Published in: Prevention Science 2/2018

01-02-2018

Examining the Highs and Lows of the Collaborative Relationship Between Technical Assistance Providers and Prevention Implementers

Authors: Sarah M. Chilenski, Janet Welsh, Jonathan Olson, Lesa Hoffman, Daniel F. Perkins, Mark E. Feinberg

Published in: Prevention Science | Issue 2/2018

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Abstract

The PROSPER model uses a three-tiered community partnership, university researcher, and Cooperative Extension-based technical assistance system to support the delivery of evidence-based interventions in communities. This study examines the trajectory and predictors of the collaborative relationship between technical assistance providers and community teams across the three phases of organization, implementation, and sustainability. Members of 14 PROmoting School-university-community Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) community teams and directors of local agencies rated communities’ levels of readiness and adolescent substance use norms. Technical assistance providers rated their collaborative relationship with their teams at 14 occasions across 4.5 years. Results from mixed models show that levels of collaboration were stable until the sustainability phase, when they increased significantly. Team differences in change were significant during the implementation phase. Community readiness predicted levels of the collaborative relationship over time: high community readiness was associated with a high level of collaboration during organization, but a decline in collaboration during implementation. These results provide a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between technical assistance provision and community prevention teams and lead to recommendations to improve dissemination models to achieve a greater public health impact.
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Metadata
Title
Examining the Highs and Lows of the Collaborative Relationship Between Technical Assistance Providers and Prevention Implementers
Authors
Sarah M. Chilenski
Janet Welsh
Jonathan Olson
Lesa Hoffman
Daniel F. Perkins
Mark E. Feinberg
Publication date
01-02-2018
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Prevention Science / Issue 2/2018
Print ISSN: 1389-4986
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6695
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-017-0812-2

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