A substantial challenge in improving public health is how to facilitate the local adoption
of evidence-based interventions (EBIs). To do so, an important step is to build local
stakeholder?s knowledge and decision-making skills regarding the adoption and implementation
of EBIs. One EBI delivery system, called PROSPER (PROmoting School-community-university
Partnerships to Enhance Resilience), has effectively mobilized community prevention efforts,
implemented prevention programming with quality, and consequently decreased youth substance
abuse. While these results are encouraging, another objective is to increase local stakeholder
knowledge of best practices for adoption, implementation and evaluation of EBIs. Using a mixed
methods approach, we assess local stakeholder knowledge of these best practices over five years,
in 28 intervention and control communities. Results indicate that the PROSPER partnership
model led to significant increases in expert knowledge regarding the selection, implementation,
and evaluation of evidence-based interventions. Findings illustrate the limited programming
knowledge possessed by members of local prevention efforts, and highlight one method for
cultivating that knowledge.
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