Put Prevention Into Practice - Evaluation of program initiation in nine Texas clinical sites

Introduction: Conclusions: Put Prevention Into Practice (PPIP) is a program designed to improve the delivery of clinical preventive services by primar y care providers, through the use of specific office materials for provider s and clinic staff, as well as an educational booklet for patients. The pur pose of this study was to identify potential predictors of successful initi ation of PPIP among 9 Texas public health clinics participating in a demons tration project funded by the Texas Department of Health (TDH). Methods: The PRECEDE model was utilized as a theoretical framework for the study. A qualitative, case study methodology was employed, with structured interviews and open-ended questions asked of each site's PPIP personnel. In formation from the sites' report to the TDH on the number of charts contain ing PPIP forms was also used for purposes of data triangulation Results: Sites that initiated PPIP successfully were characterized by a med ium patient load, the ability to serve low-resource populations, prior atte mpts to implement categorical programs, existence of a philosophy of preven tion, and pre-implementation planning. Barriers to successful initiation we re identified as systems-related, patient-related, and staff-related. Conclusions: We identified factors that might predict the successful initia tion of PPIP in public health primary care settings. Implications of presen t findings for implementation of similar health promotion programs in clini cal settings are discussed.