Community readiness: Research to practice

Communities are at many different stages of readiness for implementing prog rams, and this readiness is to be a major factor in determining whether a l ocal program can be effectively implemented and supported by the community. The Community Readiness Model was developed to meet research needs, (e.g., matching treatment and control communities for an experimental interventio n) as well as to provide a practical tool to help communities mobile for ch ange. The model defines nine stages of community readiness ranging from "no awareness" of the problem to "professionalization" in the response to the problem within the community. Assessment of the stage of readiness is accom plished using hey informant interviews, with questions on six different dim ensions related to a community's readiness to mobilize to address a specifi c issue. Based on experiences in working directly with communities, strateg ies for successful effort implementation have been developed for each stage of readiness. Once a community has achieved a stage of readiness where foc al efforts can be initiated, community teams can be trained in use of the c ommunity readiness model. These teams can then develop specific, culturally appropriate efforts that use local resources to guide the community to mor e advanced lec,els of readiness, eventually leading to long-term sustainabi lity of local community efforts. This article presents the history of the d evelopment of the model, the stages of readiness, dimensions used to assess readiness, how readiness is assessed and strategies for change at each lev el of readiness. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.