Topics In Brief
Using Research to Improve Practice
This edition is designed to help educators interpret research relevant to adolescent reproductive health, use this research to improve their programs, and adapt research-based programs to meet their specific needs. Most of this information has been adapted from a training developed by ETR Associates and the National Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention (NOAPPP).
You will find the new material on this topic under Using Research to Improve Practice in the "Theories and Approaches" section. It includes information about the topic and links to the following:
- Slide Presentation (includes an on-line version in Flash and a downloadable PowerPoint version). This 62-slide presentation is an overview of a one-day "Using Research to Select, Adapt and Improve Programs" training.
- Worksheets (pdf files):
- "Using Data to Develop a Program" — practice incorporating research results into a grant proposal,
- "Teens and Sex Program" — practice applying the characteristics of effective programs to a fictitious program, and
- "Creating an Infrastructure" — help in planning ways to learn about and integrate emerging research.
- Practice Profiles for Reducing the Risk and Get Real About AIDS (pdf file). These practice profiles identify key program elements and outline what variations in program implementation are considered acceptable and unacceptable.
- Program Fidelity Assessment. This assessment form can be a useful tool for determining if changes to a program will jeopardize its effectiveness.
- Links to Additional Information and References.
Note:
Material with the Portable Document Format (pdf) iconrequire Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print them. You can download this free software at: http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html
The slide presentation was developed in Macromedia's Flash MX and requires Macromedia Flash Player. You may download a free version of Flash Player from the Macromedia download site at: www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/
The PowerPoint presentation requires the application MicroSoft PowerPoint.