Overcoming Barriers to Implementation in Community Organizations.

Introduction: The Arthritis Foundation's Walk With Ease (WWE) program has been shown to reduce arthritis symptoms and increase physical performance for up to 1 year. However, research on community-based WWE implementation is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine early implementation at community organizations that received 1-year WWE implementation grants from the Osteoarthritis Action Alliance.

Overcoming Barriers to Physical Activity in People with Osteoarthritis: the Role of Empathic Accuracy in Couples' Planning Discussions.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic joint disease with significant individual and public health consequences. Physical activity can reduce OA symptoms, but patients often fall below recommended levels. Social support from an intimate partner can help them become more active; however, some couples are better than others at enacting effective support.

Public Health Interventions for Osteoarthritis - updates on the Osteoarthritis Action Alliance's efforts to address the 2010 OA Public Health Agenda Recommendations.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful joint disease affecting more than 32.5 million adults in the US and over 350 million adults worldwide. The prevalence is expected to rise continually over the next several decades with significant impacts to societal health and economic costs as well as individuals' daily activities and quality of life.

The Role of Cohabitating Partner and Relationship Characteristics on Physical Activity among Individuals with Osteoarthritis.

Background: Most individuals with knee or hip osteoarthritis do not meet recommendations for physical activity. The Social Cognitive Theory suggests that the social environment (e.g.

Four Methods of Recruiting Couples Into a Longitudinal Study of Physical Activity in People With Osteoarthritis: Recruitment, Retention, and Lessons Learned.

Increases in physical activity can reduce joint pain among people with osteoarthritis (PWOA) who are insufficiently physically active. Because evidence suggests that social support from intimate partners may help PWOA become more active, researchers have been interested in recruiting couples to studies of physical activity interventions; however, little guidance exists describing efficient and effective strategies for engaging couples in research. We describe methods used to recruit couples and contrast methods in terms of the proportion of individuals enrolled, sample demographic composition, retention, and resources.

The Healthy Aging Research Network: Modeling Collaboration for Community Impact.

As the first Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prevention Research Centers Program thematic network, the Healthy Aging Research Network was established to better understand the determinants of healthy aging within older adult populations, identify interventions that promote healthy aging, and assist in translating research into sustainable community-based programs throughout the nation. To achieve these goals requires concerted efforts of a collaborative network of academic, community, and public health organizational partnerships. For the 2001-2014 Prevention Research Center funding cycles, the Healthy Aging Research Network conducted prevention research and promoted the wide use of practices known to foster optimal health.

Evaluation of the Arthritis Foundation's Camine Con Gusto Program for Hispanic Adults With Arthritis.

Introduction: Camine Con Gusto (CCG) is the Hispanic version of an evidence-based walking program for people with arthritis. This study examined CCG outcomes, feasibility, tolerability, safety, and acceptability and potential tailoring.

Method: A pre and post 6-week evaluation was conducted in Hispanic people with arthritis.

Aromatase inhibitor associated arthralgia: the importance of oncology provider-patient communication about side effects and potential management through physical activity.

Purpose: Breast cancer survivors on aromatase inhibitors (AI) often experience side effects of joint pain, stiffness, or achiness (arthralgia). This study presents findings from a qualitative study of survivors on an AI regarding their knowledge of potential joint pain side effects and how both AI side effects and their management through moderate physical activity could be discussed during routine visits with their oncology provider.

Methods: Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews were content analyzed for emergent themes.

State Fall Prevention Coalitions as Systems Change Agents: An Emphasis on Policy.

Background: Falls among older adults are an escalating public health issue, which requires a multidisciplinary and multilevel approach to affect systems change to effectively address this problem. The National Council on Aging established the Falls Free® Initiative, enfolding and facilitating statewide Fall Prevention Coalitions. Fall Free® activities included developing the State Policy Toolkit for Advancing Falls Prevention to promote sustainable change by supporting the dissemination and adoption of evidence-based strategies.

Evaluation of Tai Chi Program Effectiveness for People with Arthritis in the Community: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Evaluate effectiveness of the Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi Program for community participants with arthritis.

Methods: 343 individuals were randomized to either the intervention or wait-list control group. Performance and self-reported outcome (SRO) measures were assessed at baseline and eight weeks.

Adaptation of an Evidence-Based Arthritis Program for Breast Cancer Survivors on Aromatase Inhibitor Therapy Who Experience Joint Pain.

Adding aromatase inhibitors (AIs) to adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer significantly reduces cancer recurrence. A common side effect of AIs is noninflammatory joint pain and stiffness (arthralgia) similar to arthritis symptoms. An evidence-based walking program developed by the Arthritis Foundation - Walk With Ease (WWE) - reduces arthritis-related joint symptoms.

Reaching diverse participants utilizing a diverse delivery infrastructure: a replication study.

This replication study examines participant recruitment and program adoption aspects of disease self-management programs by delivery site types. Data were analyzed from 58,526 adults collected during a national dissemination of the Stanford suite of chronic disease self-management education programs spanning 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Participant data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression to generate profiles by delivery site type.

Healthcare cost savings estimator tool for chronic disease self-management program: a new tool for program administrators and decision makers.

Chronic disease self-management education (CDSME) programs have been delivered to more than 100,000 older Americans with chronic conditions. As one of the Stanford suite of evidence-based CDSME programs, the chronic disease self-management program (CDSMP) has been disseminated in diverse populations and settings. The objective of this paper is to introduce a practical, universally applicable tool to assist program administrators and decision makers plan implementation efforts and make the case for continued program delivery.

Examining strategies to build and sustain healthy aging programming collaboratives.

Background: Community collaboratives provide a means to build local capacity, reduce service fragmentation and duplication, maximize efficiency, and create synergies for systems change. But what are the collaborative practices that aging services providers and other stakeholders employ for system change and impact in evidence-based programming for older adults?

Purpose: The aim of this study was to learn how aging and health collaborations created strategic partnerships to foster multisector systems change and pursue long-term goals and near-term activities to sustain and expand evidence-based health programming.

Methods: Via a multiphase process, we identified eight geographically diverse, exemplar agencies that serve as the coordinators for various community collaborations.

Preparing the workforce for healthy aging programs: the Skills for Healthy Aging Resources and Programs (SHARP) model.

Current public health and aging service agency personnel have little training in gerontology, and virtually no training in evidence-based health promotion and disease management programs for older adults. These programs are rapidly becoming the future of our community-based long-term care support system. The purpose of this project was to develop and test a model community college career technical education program, Skills for Healthy Aging Resources and Programs (SHARP), for undergraduate college students, current personnel in aging service and community organizations, and others interested in retraining.

Perceptions about community applications of RE-AIM in the promotion of evidence-based programs for older adults.

Despite the growing literature about the RE-AIM framework as a planning, implementation, and evaluation tool, little is known about practitioners' adoption of the framework, confidence to utilize framework elements, or perceptions of its usefulness. To assess how RE-AIM was implemented by state aging service providers and public health partners, data were collected using an Internet-delivered, cross-sectional survey from 40 stakeholders in 27 funded states in an evidence-based disease prevention initiative for older adults. Most participants agreed the framework was useful for planning, implementation, and evaluation and relevant for evaluators, providers, community leaders, and policy makers.

Feasibility and promise of a 6-week program to encourage physical activity and reduce joint symptoms among elderly breast cancer survivors on aromatase inhibitor therapy.

Background: National guidelines suggest that women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer be considered for adjuvant endocrine treatment with an aromatase inhibitor (AI). Joint symptoms (arthralgia) are a common AI side-effect. There is a need for effective approaches to arthralgia management that enable survivors to remain on AI therapy while optimizing as pain-free a life as possible.

Methods for streamlining intervention fidelity checklists: an example from the chronic disease self-management program.

Maintaining intervention fidelity should be part of any programmatic quality assurance (QA) plan and is often a licensure requirement. However, fidelity checklists designed by original program developers are often lengthy, which makes compliance difficult once programs become widely disseminated in the field. As a case example, we used Stanford's original Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) fidelity checklist of 157 items to demonstrate heuristic procedures for generating shorter fidelity checklists.

National dissemination of multiple evidence-based disease prevention programs: reach to vulnerable older adults.

Older adults, who are racial/ethnic minorities, report multiple chronic conditions, reside in medically underserved rural areas, or have low incomes carry a high burden of chronic illness but traditionally lack access to disease prevention programs. The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP), A Matter of Balance/Volunteer Lay Leader (AMOB/VLL), and EnhanceFitness (EF) are widely disseminated evidence-based programs (EBP), but the extent to which they are simultaneously delivered in communities to reach vulnerable populations has not been documented. We conducted cross-sectional analyses of three EBP disseminated within 27 states throughout the United States (US) (2006-2009) as part of the Administration on Aging (AoA) Evidence-Based Disease and Disability Prevention Initiative, which received co-funding from the Atlantic Philanthropies.

Perceived Utility of the RE-AIM Framework for Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Initiatives for Older Adults: A Case Study from the U.S. Evidence-Based Disease Prevention Initiative.

Dissemination and implementation (D&I) frameworks are increasingly being promoted in public health research. However, less is known about their uptake in the field, especially for diverse sets of programs. Limited questionnaires exist to assess the ways that frameworks can be utilized in program planning and evaluation.

From evidence to practice: using the RE-AIM framework to adapt the REACHII caregiver intervention to the community.

This article describes how the multi-step mid-course assessment of the REACH II community translation project in North Carolina was guided by the RE-AIM framework, and summarizes adaptations made to enhance the feasibility of adoption and maintenance while at the same time assuring fidelity to program core elements. The two-stage assessment involved both quantitative (survey) and qualitative (discussion group) components. Results indicated a need to focus primarily on tailoring pre-intervention training, streamlining and clarifying intervention guides and tools, targeting specific participant recruitment messages, addressing issues of session length, and clarifying what flexibilities family consultants could exercise in terms of specific session content addressed and other supportive materials used.

The healthy aging research network: resources for building capacity for public health and aging practice.

There is an urgent need to translate science into practice and help enhance the capacity of professionals to deliver evidence-based programming. We describe contributions of the Healthy Aging Research Network in building professional capacity through online modules, issue briefs, monographs, and tools focused on health promotion practice, physical activity, mental health, and environment and policy. We also describe practice partnerships and research activities that helped inform product development and ways these products have been incorporated into real-world practice to illustrate possibilities for future applications.

Personal and delivery site characteristics associated with intervention dosage in an evidence-based fall risk reduction program for older adults.

The objective of this study is to identify sociodemographics of older adults enrolled in a nationally disseminated evidence-based fall risk reduction program, describe different delivery sites, and examine personal and site characteristics associated with intervention adherence. Data were analyzed from 6,922 older adults enrolled in A Matter of Balance/Volunteer Lay Leader (AMOB/VLL) model between 2006 and 2009. Intervention dosage was measured by workshop attendance.