Public Health in ACTION

Project Dates: April 2017- March 2023

The purpose of Public Health in ACTION (Appropriate Continuation of Tested Interventions) is to identity the extent to which cancer control mis-implementation occurs within health departments at the state level. Misimplementation refers to ending effective programs and policies or continuing ineffective ones. Greater attention to mis-implementation should lead to use of effective interventions and more efficient expenditure of resources, which in the long term, will lead to positive cancer outcomes.

Project Goals:

• Assess the extent to which mis-implementation is occurring among state cancer control programs in public health through a nation-wide survey.
• Develop and disseminate a series of case studies that will highlight lessons learned about mis-implementation.
• Build an agent-based model to identify dynamic interactions between individual, organizational, and contextual (external) factors leading to mis-implementation.

Implications for Research and Practice:

This project addresses population health strategies related to premature cancer morbidity and mortality. Sparse knowledge exists regarding effective approaches for reducing misimplementation among real world practice audiences. Upon completion, our project will provide practice-relevant strategies for more efficient use of resources that can be adapted to other settings and risk factors.

Project Contact:

Peg Allen pegallen@wustl.edu

Project Staff:

Project Manager: Peg Allen, pegallen@wustl.edu

Research Assistants: Jess Gannon

Principal Investigator: Ross Brownson, PhD

Co-Investigators: Douglas Luke, PhD; Peg Allen, PhD; Sarah Moreland-Russell, PhD; Ross Hammond, PhD, Paul Erwin, MD, DrPH, Stephanie Mazzuca, Cheryl Valko

Project Partners:

Brookings Institution Center on Social Dynamics and Policy; National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD)

Funding Source:

NCI R01CA214530