Developing participatory, systems science-based methods for selecting and tailoring implementation strategies for cancer control in rural communities

Project Dates: 2019-2021

Cancer control within rural communities involves many sectors (healthcare, local health departments, non-profit organizations), yet there is little guidance on how communities can implement evidence-based interventions such as those focused on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination or physical activity (PA) guidelines. We will use several techniques to identify evidence-based implementation strategies that fit the rural context and the preferences of community stakeholders.

Project Goals:

  • Identify potential sets of implementation strategies for rural, community-based cancer control using stakeholder input from group model building and literature review.
  • Identify tailoring opportunities for implementation strategies through conjoint analysis.

Implications for Research and Practice:

This study will leverage stakeholder knowledge of implementation in under-resourced settings and stakeholder input to derive multifaceted implementation strategies tailored to rural settings to reduce cancer disparities using a systems science approach and methods that blend breadth and depth of information. The use of group model building will allow us to obtain highly detailed information about the rural community context (system), while conjoint analysis will yield information from a broader group of community stakeholders to identify tailoring opportunities.

Project Contact: Stephanie Mazzucca, PhD

Project Staff: Ross Brownson, Byron PowellAlex Ramsey, Ana Baumann, Sarah Pritchard