Linda Cambon

Transferability of interventions in health education: a review.

BackgroundHealth education interventions are generally complex. Their outcomes result from both the intervention itself and the context for which they are developed. Thus, when an intervention carried out in one context is reproduced in another, its transferability can be questionable. We performed a literature review to analyze the concept of transferability in the health education field.MethodsArticles included were published between 2000 and 2010 that addressed the notion of transferability of interventions in health education. Articles were analyzed using a standardized grid based on four items: 1) terminology used; 2) factors that influenced transferability; 3) capacity of the research and evaluation designs to assess transferability; and 4) tools and criteria available to assess transferability.Results43 articles met the inclusion criteria. Only 13 of them used the exact term “transferability” and one article gave an explicit definition: the extent to which the measured effectiveness of an applicable intervention could be achieved in another setting. Moreover, this concept was neither clearly used nor distinguished from others, such as applicability. We highlight the levels of influence of transferability and their associated factors, as well as the limitations of research methods in their ability to produce transferable conclusions.ConclusionsWe have tried to clarify the concept by defining it along three lines that may constitute areas for future research: factors influencing transferability, research methods to produce transferable data, and development of criteria to assess transferability. We conclude this review with three propositions: 1) a conceptual clarification of transferability, especially with reference to other terms used; 2) avenues for developing knowledge on this concept and analyzing the transferability of interventions; and 3) in relation to research, avenues for developing better evaluation methods for assessing the transferability of interventions.

A tool to analyze the transferability of health promotion interventions

BackgroundHealth promotion interventions are often complex and not easily transferable from one setting to another. The objective of this article is to present the development of a tool to analyze the transferability of these interventions and to support their development and adaptation to new settings.MethodsThe concept mapping (CM) method was used. CM is helpful for generating a list of ideas associated with a concept and grouping them statistically. Researchers and stakeholders in the health promotion field were mobilized to participate in CM and generated a first list of transferability criteria. Duplicates were eliminated, and the shortened list was returned to the experts, scored for relevance and grouped into categories. Concept maps were created, then the project team selected the definitive map. From the final list of criteria thus structured, a tool to analyze transferability was created. This tool was subsequently tested by 15 project leaders and nine experts.ResultsIn all, 18 experts participated in CM. After testing, a tool, named ASTAIRE, contained 23 criteria structured into four categories: population, environment, implementation, and support for transfer. It consists of two tools—one for reporting data from primary interventions and one for analyzing interventions’ transferability and supporting their adaptation to new settings.ConclusionThe tool is helpful for selecting the intervention to transfer into the setting being considered and for supporting its adaptation. It also facilitates new interventions to be produced with more explicit transferability criteria.

Efficacy of a smoking cessation program in a population of adolescent smokers in vocational schools: a public health evaluative controlled study

BackgroundTo evaluate the public health efficacy of a community-based smoking cessation program (TABADO) among vocational school trainees (15 to 20 years old).MethodsThis prospective, controlled, quasi-experimental study was conducted in eight vocational training centres (VTC) in France. The intervention group underwent the TABADO program, which included a general information session for all students and small-group sessions plus individual counselling and nicotine therapy, if needed, for volunteers in an enhanced program. The control group received no specific intervention other than the educational services usually available. The primary outcome was 30-day point prevalence abstinence at 12 months.ResultsThe mean age of the 1,814 students included was 16.9 years (SD = 1.0); 84.7% were males. At baseline, 52% were smokers and 5.7% ex-smokers. In the intervention group, 24.6% of smokers volunteered for the enhanced program and 18.1% could be included. By 12-month follow-up, with participants lost to follow-up considered non-abstinent, 10.6% of smokers in the intervention group had become abstinent versus 7.4% in the control group (adjusted p = 0.03; odds ratio [OR] = 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.05–3.0); considering lost to follow-up as missing data, 17% of intervention group participants were abstinent versus 11.9% in the control group (univariate p = 0.08; adjusted p = 0.008; OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.2–3.6).ConclusionThe TABADO program, targeting teenagers in vocational schools, was effective in producing a higher 12-month abstinence rate among all smokers in the intervention group.Trial registrationClinical trial identification number is NTC00973570.

Stakeholders' perceptions of transferability criteria for health promotion interventions: a case study.

BackgroundThe effects of health promotion interventions are the result not only of the interventions themselves, but also of the contexts in which they unfold. The objective of this study was to analyze, through stakeholders’ discourse, the characteristics of an intervention that can influence its outcomes.MethodsThis case study was based on semi-structured interviews with health promotion stakeholders involved in a regional program (PRALIMAP). General hypotheses on transferability and on how the intervention is presumed to produce its effects were used to construct an interview guide. Interviews were analyzed using thematic coding.ResultsTwenty-three stakeholders were interviewed. Results showed stakeholders made few references to population and environment characteristics. Three themes emerged as significant for the stakeholders: implementation modalities and methodology, modalities used to mobilize actors; and transferability-promoting factors and barriers.ConclusionOur work contributes to a better understanding not only of transferability factors, but also of stakeholders’ perceptions of them, which are just as important, because those perceptions themselves are a factor in mobilization of actors, implementation, and transferability.

Health needs and public health functions addressed in scientific publications in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa

OBJECTIVE To describe the reporting of public health research in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa (FSA). STUDY DESIGN A bibliometric research study of scientific public health publications in FSA, which includes 24 countries and approximately 260 million people. METHODS Two researchers analysed original articles published in 2007 in the medical or social sciences fields and indexed in Scopus. At least one co-author of articles had to be based in FSA. The analysis focused on research field, public health function (WHO classification), FSA country authors affiliation, language, journal type and global burden of disease (WHO classification). RESULTS Of 1047 articles retrieved by the search, 212 were from the public health field. The number of articles per country varied from 0 to 36. Public health functions examined were health service research (24.5%), health monitoring (27.4%), prevention (15%) and legislation (0.5%). The distribution of health needs described in the articles was close to that of the WHO data for Africa for 2004: infectious and parasitic diseases (70% vs 54%), maternal and perinatal conditions (15% vs 17%), non-communicable diseases (15.6% vs 21%), and injuries (0.5% vs 8%). CONCLUSION The areas reported in published articles from sub-Saharan Africa reflect the health needs distribution in Africa; however, the number of publications is low, particularly for prevention. In light of the current focus on evidence-based public health, this study questions whether the international scientific community adequately considers the expertise and perspectives of African researchers and professionals.

Réflexions et perspectives concernant l’ evidence-based health promotion dans le contexte français

In France, current structuring of preventive and health promotion policies has created a context favoring evidence-based actions. Yet, in health promotion and health education, interventions are very much setting dependent, potentially compromising this type of approach to health promotion. Thus, in an attempt to inform participants in health promotion in the French setting of ongoing international debates on the topic, we present the main limitations developed in literature, highlighting recent work responding to the challenge. Our analysis is focused on three points: the issue of the level of intervention and indicators to assess efficacy and effectiveness of health promotion interventions; the issue of research methodologies, their capacity to demonstrate efficacy and effectiveness of health promotion interventions and the transferability of their outcomes; the issue of the external validity of studies, and in particular the information necessary for understanding complex mechanisms of intervention. On the basis of this analysis, and with the aim of improving evidence-based health promotion practices, we propose practical perspectives in the French environment for policymakers, local practitioners and researchers. To conclude, we link this issue with the concept of knowledge transfer, which is developed in other countries.

Exploratory study of the implications of research on the use of smart connected devices for prevention: a scoping review

BackgroundSmart devices and mobile applications are now an integral part of all aspects of everyday life. They are particularly numerous in the field of health, contributing to the movement called ehealth. What is the potential role of these devices as prevention supports? The purpose of this article is to provide an exploratory analysis of the use, efficacy and contribution to conventional prevention strategies.MethodsTo address this issue, we conducted a scoping-review on the basis of 105 publications from the fields of medicine and human sciences.ResultsThree dimensions of the use of smart devices in the field of health were identified: 1/a quantification tool allowing the users to measure their activities; 2/a tool of self-positioning in the community; 3/an interface between the medical world and the population, modifying the hierarchy of knowledge. However, few published studies have investigated the determinants of the efficacy of these devices and their impact on individual behaviours and professional health practices.ConclusionBased on the hypothesis of possible integration of these devices in prevention policies, it would be interesting to investigate two research issues: how and under what psycho-socio-environmental conditions can smart devices contribute to the adoption of positive health behaviours? To what degree does the use of smart devices modify the health care professional-patient relationship? Finding answers to these questions could help to define the real place of these devices in prevention strategies by determining their complementarity with respect to other prevention strategies, and the conditions of their efficacy on behaviours and inequalities.

The GREENH-City interventional research protocol on health in all policies

BackgroundThis paper presents the research protocol of the GoveRnance for Equity, EnviroNment and Health in the City (GREENH-City) project funded by the National Institute for Cancer (Subvention N°2017–003-INCA). In France, health inequities have tended to increase since the late 1980s. Numerous studies show the influence of social, economic, geographic and political determinants on health inequities across the life course. Exposure to environmental factors is uneven across the population and may impact on health and health inequities. In cities, green spaces contribute to creating healthy settings which may help tackle health inequities. Health in All Policies (HiAP) represents one of the key strategies for addressing social and environmental determinants of health inequities. The objective of this research is to identify the most promising interventions to operationalize the HiAP approaches at the city level to tackle health inequities through urban green spaces. It is a participatory interventional research to analyze public policy in real life setting (WHO Healthy Cities).Method/designIt is a mixed method systemic study with a quantitative approach for the 80 cities and a comparative qualitative multiple case-studies of 6 cities. The research combines 3 different lens: 1/a political analysis of how municipalities apply HiAP to reduce social inequities of health through green space policies and interventions 2/a geographical and topological characterization of green spaces and 3/ on-site observations of the use of green spaces by the inhabitants.ResultsCity profiles will be identified regarding their HiAP approaches and the extent to which these cities address social inequities in health as part of their green space policy action. The analysis of the transferability of the results will inform policy recommendations in the rest of the Health City Network and widely for the French municipalities.Discussion/conclusionThe study will help identify factors enabling the implementation of the HiAP approach at a municipal level, promoting the development of green spaces policies in urban areas in order to tackle the social inequities in health.

Addressing complexity in population health intervention research: the context/intervention interface

Background Public health interventions are increasingly being recognised as complex and context dependent. Related to this is the need for a systemic and dynamic conception of interventions that raises the question of delineating the scope and contours of interventions in complex systems. This means identifying which elements belong to the intervention (and therefore participate in its effects and can be transferred), which ones belong to the context and interact with the former to influence results (and therefore must be taken into account when transferring the intervention) and which contextual elements are irrelevant to the intervention. Discussion This paper, from which derives criteria based on a network framework, operationalises how the context and intervention systems interact and identify what needs to be replicated as interventions are implemented in different contexts. Representing interventions as networks (composed of human and non-human entities), we introduce the idea that the density of interconnections among the various entities provides a criterion for distinguishing core intervention from intervention context without disconnecting the two systems. This differentiates endogenous and exogenous intervention contexts and the mediators that connect them, which form the fuzzy and constantly changing intervention/context interface. Conclusion We propose that a network framework representing intervention/context systems constitutes a promising approach for deriving empirical criteria to delineate the scope and contour of what is replicable in an intervention. This approach should allow better identification and description of the entities that have to be transferred to ensure the potential effectiveness of an intervention in a specific context.

Urban green spaces and cancer: a protocol for a scoping review

Introduction Green space in the built environment is an important topic on the health agenda today. Studies have shown that access to green spaces is associated with better mental and physical health, yet green spaces can also be detrimental to health if they are not managed appropriately. Despite the increasing interest in urban green spaces, little research has so far been conducted into the links between green spaces and cancer. Objective The purpose of this scoping review is therefore to map the literature available on the types of relationship between urban green spaces and cancer. Method and analysis We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols 2015 guideline to report the protocol. To conduct this scoping review, we will use a structured search strategy based on controlled vocabulary and relevant key terms related to green space, urban space and cancer. We will search MEDLINE (PubMed), GreenFILE (EBSCOhost), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (EBSCOhost) and ScienceDirect as electronic database as well as hand-search publications for grey literature. This review will therefore provide evidence on this current topic, one which could have practical implications for policy-makers involved in choices which are more conducive to healthy living. Ethics and dissemination No primary data will be collected since all data that will be presented in this review are based on published articles and publicly available documents, and therefore ethics committee approval is not a requirement. The findings of this review will be presented at workshops and conferences, and will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.