APPCNC promotes the use of science-based practices in preventing teen pregnancy. APPCNC is a partner in a Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Cooperative Agreement which includes 3 national organizations, 9 state coalitions, and 4 regional trainings centers. The initiative is about bridging the gap between research and practice and getting the valuable lessons learned from research to the practitioners who can use them. It is about answering the following questions:
- How do I use research to enhance what I am already doing?
- What programs are considered science-based?
- How do I choose a science-based program that will fit with my community population and needs?
- What does my agency need to implement a program well?
- How do I get my agency and community ready for implementation of a science-based program?
- How do I do quality evaluation to know if my program is doing what we need it to do?
- How can I sustain a successful program?
WHAT ARE SCIENCE-BASED APPROACHES?
The Grocery List Scenario:
Say you wanted to make a big dinner for 20 people. How would you plan it? Would you decide who to invite? Would you think about what you would like to make before the night of the big dinner? Would you look in your cupboards to see what ingredients you have on hand and what you will need to purchase? Would you make a list to shop by? Would you invite the people, tell them what time to come and make sure they could come? Would you think about whether any of the guests had any dietary restrictions? Would you educate yourself on how to prepare a dish that is new to you? You would probably do all of these things which is a planning process that could help lead to a better outcome (a good dinner – and happy guests that will look forward to coming to dinner again).
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Similarly, the impetus of the promoting science-based approaches initiative is about helping professionals become very deliberate in the process of program planning and program selection, adaptation, or improvement. Organizations that use science-based approaches in their teen pregnancy and HIV/STD prevention programs have found that tools – such as the BDI Logic Model and evaluation framework - serve as a roadmap to select, develop, plan, and evaluate their programs in a succinct and organized manner. So science-based work is about being deliberate and selective and ultimately using a program that: 1) fits with your community and population, 2) has demonstrated success or is closely aligned with programs that have demonstrated success, 3) is financially and humanly sustainable, and 4) is continually improving upon itself based on evaluation findings.
Definations:
Tools:
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