TRANSLATING RESEARCH INTO MCH SERVICE - COMPARISON OF A PILOT PROJECTAND A LARGE-SCALE RESOURCE MOTHERS PROGRAM

THIS STUDY EXAMINES the process and effect of translating a pilot rese arch project into a large-scale service program. In a pilot resource m others program for pregnant teenagers, participants had fewer low birt h weight infants than teenagers in the comparison group. In the corres ponding large-scale service program, a similarly positive effect on lo w birth weight was not seen. In an effort to understand how these diff erences occurred, the evaluation methodologies and key characteristics that describe the background, infrastructure, components, and service providers of the two projects were compared. Important differences be tween the pilot project and the service program were seen in funding s tability, diversity of staff, community versus health department owner ship of the program, caseloads, and levels of training and supervision . it seems probable that these differences brought about changes in th e intensity and character of the intervention from the pilot to the se rvice program, leading to a reduction of the intervention's efficacy i n reducing the number of low birth weight infants. The implications of these findings for researchers and program planners are discussed.