Defining elements of success: a critical pathway of coalition development.

In recent decades, coalitions have been established to address many public health problems, including injury prevention. A partnership among the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center and four injury prevention coalitions has documented the developmental stages of successful coalitions. This developmental process was constructed through the analysis of participating coalition documents, such as each coalition's mission statement, bylaws or rules of operation, the use of committees within the organization, frequency of meetings, and additional historical documents.