Developing translational products for adapting evidence-based physical activity interventions in rural communities.

The development and distribution of educational materials is a key strategy to support the implementation of evidence-based interventions (EBIs). Rural communities have higher rates of physical inactivity and face higher burden of many diseases that increased physical activity can prevent. To support the translation of a developed physical activity intervention for adults in micropolitan communities (10,000-50,000 people), called Active Iowa, the University of Iowa Prevention Research Center for Rural Health (PRC-RH) created a toolkit and supplemental resources designed to guide implementers through the implementation of the intervention.

Effectiveness of implementing evidence-based approaches to promote physical activity in a Midwestern micropolitan area using a quasi-experimental hybrid type I study design.

Background: Much evidence-based physical activity (PA) interventions have been tested and implemented in urban contexts. However, studies that adapt, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions in micropolitan rural contexts are needed. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Active Ottumwa intervention to promote PA in a micropolitan community.

Evaluating Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change Interventions: Lessons Learned From CDC's Prevention Research Centers.

Introduction: The field of public health is increasingly implementing initiatives intended to make policies, systems, and environments (PSEs) more supportive of healthy behaviors, even though the evidence for many of these strategies is only emerging. Our objective was 3-fold: 1) to describe evaluations of PSE-change programs in which the evaluators followed the steps of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health, 2) to share the resulting lessons learned, and 3) to assist future evaluators of PSE-change programs with their evaluation design decisions.

Methods: Seven Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) applied CDC's framework to evaluate their own PSE-change initiatives.