Appropriateness

Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM) 

Citation: Weiner BJ, Lewis CC, Stanick C, Powell BJ, Dorsey CN, Clary AS, Boynton MH, Halko H. Psychometric assessment of three newly developed implementation outcome measures. Implementation science. 2017 Dec;12:1-2. As with the other measures, we recommend each team should discuss internally and with Methods Core if the statements make sense in the context of their intervention and/or implementation strategy and if there are any contextual or language issues that would affect understanding. There are challenges with translating the IAM to different languages and sometimes can be challenging to understand in English. 

Protocol for translation: Toma G, Guetterman TC, Yaqub T, Talaat N, Fetters MD. A systematic approach for accurate translation of instruments: Experience with translating the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale into Arabic. Methodological Innovations. 2017 Nov;10(3):2059799117741406.  

Reach out to Methods Core for inquiries around existing translations.  

Participants may seek clarification when filling out the survey on specific words or overlap with scale statements. Reach out to Methods Core to have clarification examples or phrasing that anchors statements. With these scales, Dr. Weiner suggests adding a referent so that respondents have an easier time responding. Below are his suggests on adding referents: 

• Person: e.g., suitable for nurses (given scope of practice), suitable for my patients, kids like me 
• Place: e.g., suitable for my organization (this clinic, schools) 

Here are some ways you can use this measure in the design process…  

• IAM can be used to test relevance during development to ensure that both educators and adolescents see the intervention as appropriate for their context (e.g., school setting) and needs (e.g., addressing anxiety or depression). This is critical for driving acceptance and uptake.   
• If IAM scores are low, it indicates a mismatch between the intervention and user needs (i.e., a poor contextual adaptation), suggesting that content or strategies need to be adapted to better align with the context. 
• IAM results can guide decisions that can be used to refine the content, for instance on whether to adapt specific modules (e.g., behavioral support) or modify the intervention’s focus (e.g., more emphasis on emotional regulation).