Project Overview > How to Select a Tool

How to Select and Adapt an Intervention

Selecting and adapting an intervention will be much easier if the situational assessment phase of the Comprehensive Workplace Health Promotion Planning Framework has been completed. The type of intervention chosen for implementation should fit with the results of the situational assessment. The knowledge gained about the workplace from the situational assessment should also guide adaptation decisions.
Use the checklist below as a guide while working through the fifth element of the CWHP Planning Framework to develop the intervention and evaluation plan.

Intervention Selection & Adaptation Checklist

[ ] Objectives – The intervention’s content is built to meet its overall objectives. Consider how the intervention meets the previously identified needs and opportunities identified within your workplace during the situational assessment phase (element three).

Helpful Hint – What topic area are employees interested in making changes in? Look in the catalogue Cabin Guide to identify interventions within the catalogue that promote the topic of interest. Refer to the specific objectives provided in the intervention summary to determine how well the objectives fit the needs of your audience.

[ ] Approach used (premises, concepts, theory) – Good interventions make assumptions about what factors or concepts are associated with getting the audience to take a desired action. These assumptions are generally drawn from theories about how people behave or act. If you are unsure about the approaches or theories used, consider working with health education specialists or behavior change researchers as you review the intervention.

Helpful Hint – Review the intervention printable PDF summary to identify the core components of the intervention. Will you be able to implement all of the core components?

[ ] Content (education level, depth of coverage, and comprehensibility) – Examine the level of complexity, the reading level, and the level of detail to ensure that the information provided is appropriate for your audience. Have individuals from your audience review the materials and give you their feedback.

Helpful Hint – Review the intervention summary and its materials with your intended audience for feedback on its appropriateness. Define the extent of adaptation needed and potential ways to implement the new intervention. How much work will you need to do to adapt the intervention for use in your workplace?

[ ] Level of understanding or acceptance – Beliefs or values may cause people to either reject or accept the information that the intervention provides. Personal experiences, historical events, myths and misinformation, or cultural backgrounds can shape people’s beliefs and values. Representatives of your intended audience can help to assess whether the intervention suits your audience.

Helpful Hint – Discuss with the healthy workplace committee the appropriateness of the intervention for the workplace. Review the intervention printable PDF summary information to gain a better understanding of the activities and the target audience. How similar is the target audience described in the PDF to the employees at your workplace?

[ ] Fit with available resources – Review the intervention to see if it includes activities that are realistic and achievable, given the resources in your workplace.

Helpful Hint – Visit the catalogue Cabin Guide Access Information section to quickly identify the cost of resources for the intervention. Review a more detailed description of the required resources in the intervention printable PDF summary. Do you have the appropriate human and fiscal resources and facilities available to implement the intervention?

[ ] Channels used to transmit the information – Many of the interventions are designed to be delivered in a specific way. For example, some are intended for small-group settings while others are intended for entire communities. Their effectiveness may be dependent on that mode of delivery. If you intend to offer interventions or products through a different delivery channel, you will need to consider how the effectiveness of the message(s) might be affected by the change.

Helpful Hint – Review the intervention printable PDF summary to gain a better understanding of the main activities and the recruitment methods.

[ ] Terminology used – Terms might convey different things to different audiences. For some groups the term “physical activity” is associated with work or labour, when often it is meant to refer to “leisure time activity” or “exercise.” Pilot testing will help you understand how your audience interprets the key terms used in the intervention.

Helpful Hint – Develop “mock-up” versions of the adapted resources. Pilot test the adaptation with representatives from your audience. Modify or revise the adapted intervention and products based on pilot test feedback.

[ ] Fit with your audience’s culture The best way to determine the fit of a product or intervention is to pilot test it with your audience. Asking questions like “Does this seem to have been developed with people like you in mind?” or “Is this relevant to your experiences?” will help you determine the cultural appropriateness of the intervention and product.

[ ] Intended actions – If participants are being asked to act on information, be sure that the desired or expected behaviors are consistent with your objectives and the needs of the audience.

Helpful Hint – Look at the evaluation information contained in the intervention printable PDF summary to determine the key impacts of the intervention. Do these impacts match with the needs identified in the situational assessment? Do the impacts match with what the healthy workplace committee wants to accomplish? Do the impacts match what senior management wants to accomplish?

Sources: Needs/Impact-Based Planning Model, A Planning Framework for Central West, 1996 and Using What Works: Adapting Evidence-Based Programs to Fit Your Needs, National Cancer Institute, http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/use_what_works/start.htm.