Evidence-based public health focuses on the translation of research into practice in order to improve health outcomes (Brownson 2009 Brownson 2010 In 2010 2010 The National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a “roadmap” which urged the evaluation of research in real-world settings as a primary goal of translational science (NIH 2010 However successful implementation and evaluation of evidence-based interventions (programs policies strategies) in community settings other than those in which they were originally shown to be efficacious has proven challenging (Burgio 2010 Kerner Rimer & Emmons 2005 Some authors have urged the generation of evidence from practice settings (rather than or in addition to strictly controlled research settings) to make evidence-based interventions better matched to community needs (Green 2008 When community health planners select an evidence-based intervention that has been developed and tested in one situation and adapt it for use in a different situation or community best practice suggests needs assessment and formative research in the new setting (Bartholomew et al. evidence from practice settings (rather than or in addition to strictly controlled research settings) to make evidence-based interventions better matched to community needs (Green 2008 When community health planners select an evidence-based intervention that has been developed and tested in one situation and adapt it for use in a different situation or community best practice suggests needs assessment and formative research in the new setting (Bartholomew et al. 2011 Lau 2006 ). Cancer prevention planners who are interested in adopting PR-619 and perhaps adapting an evidence-based approach need to base their choices on a sound understanding Rabbit Polyclonal to SLC9A8. of the health or behavioral risk problem in which they mean to intervene (Brownson et al. 2010 This understanding optimally derived from both the peer reviewed literature and directly from the local community context includes PR-619 not only the behavior of risk of the priority group but also the personal and environmental determinants of that behavior (Bartholomew et al. 2011 Other important information is the organizational context and culture of potential implementation sites (Brownson et al. 2010 Green et al. 2006 Kohatsu et al. 2004 Acquiring information on which to base the selection of an evidence-based approach to cancer prevention and control in a new community requires a balancing act of assessing local community needs weighing community information against a broader perspective from the scientific literature and using the combination to identify and adapt an evidence-based intervention program that is likely to be effective in the new setting (Brownson et al 2010 This report is a case study of a community and organizational assessment conducted as a foundation for selecting and recommending adaptation of an evidence-based intervention in the community. The goal of the planning group was to select an intervention to increase mammography among underserved African American women by reducing missed appointments. Research has shown that African American women are less likely to use mammography screening (Schueler et al. 2008 Crump et al. 2000 Legler et al. 2002 more likely to miss scheduled mammography appointments (Smith-Bindman et al. 2006 and therefore more likely PR-619 to be diagnosed at a later stage of breast cancer (Smith-Bindman et al. 2006 than their Caucasian counterparts. We used a systematic community informed approach to assess community needs ideas PR-619 for solutions and organizational capacity for intervention selection aimed to reduce mammography non-adherence among African American women. Methods We used an inductive sequential exploratory mixed methods design to inform our search for and selection of an evidence-based intervention program as shown in Figure 1. Each step in the design informed the approach and questions used in the next step. Figure 1 Project Phases Flow Chart with Steps and Products Developed. Project Context: Partners Priority Population and Neighborhoods of Focus This project was a partnership between a local health foundation a collaborative of breast health organizations a mammography clinical service provider and researchers. The local health foundation was a non-profit organization focused on public health that provided grant funding to area service organizations. PR-619 The project was initiated by the collaborative of breast health organizations. The priority population was chosen because of the concern of the partners in particular about the no-show rates for scheduled mammograms among underserved women. This priority population was low income uninsured African American women aged 35-64. Low income was considered at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) which was $22 50 for a family of four in 2009 2009. Four Houston area super neighborhoods were selected as communities of focus: Acres Homes Greater Inwood Fondren Gardens and Northshore. A super neighborhood refers to a geographic area where residents civic organizations institutions and businesses work together to set priorities to address the needs and concerns of their community. These communities of focus were determined by secondary data analysis based on the highest concentration of African American women between the age groups 35-64 and highest breast tumor mortality. Since Harris Region including the City of Houston is definitely considerably large (both in.