Research to practice: application of an evidence-building framework to a childhood obesity prevention initiative in New South Wales.
Source: Health Promotion Journal of Australia. 2012; 23(1); 16-24.
Authors: Chris Rissell, Rachel Laws, Alexius St George, Debra Hector, Andrew J. Milat and Louise A Bauer.
Commentary by Trevor Shilton, National Heart Foundation
With the recent increase in Australia in funding streams for health promotion and prevention through the National Partnership Agreement on Preventative Health this article is a timely communication of an evidence building framework that can assist in selection of interventions that are most likely to be effective. It outlines a five-stage evidence building framework and applies this to current child obesity prevention initiatives in New South Wales. Scoring criteria were identified for application within each of the five stages.
- problem definition
- solution generation
- intervention testing (efficacy)
- intervention replication, and
- dissemination research.
When the 10 childhood obesity interventions were examined in relation to their supporting research evidence the analysis showed that problem definition and solution generation were generally well addressed, but evidence gaps pointed to research opportunities for efficacy testing and intervention replication in different settings and locations.
This article and its articulation of an evidence-based framework for assessing evidence relating to interventions, is a worthwhile and timely addition to the literature, providing a useful framework to assist in strategy selection and refinement at a time when investments in prevention in Australia are increasing. More work is required to determine the validity and reliability of the criteria for rating within the five stage evidence-building framework
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