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The Role of Organizational Capacity in Intervention Efficacy in a Church-Based Cancer Education Program: A Configurational Analysis

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A Correction to this article was published on 15 July 2023

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Abstract

It is well-established in the field of implementation science that the context in which an intervention is delivered can play a crucial role in how well it is implemented. However, less is known about how organizational context or capacity relates to efficacy outcomes, particularly with health promotion interventions delivered outside of healthcare settings. The present study examined whether organizational capacity indicators were linked to key efficacy outcomes in an evidence-based cancer control intervention delivered in 13 African American churches in Maryland. Outcomes included increases in colorectal cancer knowledge and self-report colonoscopy screening behavior from baseline to follow-up. We used Coincidence Analysis to identify features of organizational capacity that uniquely distinguished churches with varying levels of cancer knowledge and screening. Indicators of organizational capacity (e.g., congregation size, prior health promotion experience) were from an existing measure of church organizational capacity for health promotion. A single solution pathway accounted for greater increases in colorectal cancer knowledge over 12 months, with a combination of two conditions: conducting 3 or more health promotion activities in the prior 2 years together with not receiving any technical assistance from outside partners in the prior 2 years. A single condition accounted for greater increases in colonoscopy screening over 24 months: churches that had conducted health promotion activities in 1–4 different topical areas in the prior 2 years. Findings highlight aspects of organizational capacity (e.g., prior experience in health promotion) that may facilitate intervention efficacy and can help practitioners identify organizational settings most promising for intervention impact.

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Study materials are available upon request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The team would like to thank Col. Jimmie Slade and Ms. Barbara Jean Shaneman-Robinson, who conducted the community engagement activities for the present study. Clinical trial registration: The study was pre-registered at clinicaltrials.gov. Identifier: NCT02076958. Registered 3/4/2014. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02076958

Funding

This work was supported by the National Cancer Institute under Grant R01CA147313 and by funds through the Maryland Department of Health’s Cigarette Restitution Fund Program.

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Correspondence to Cheryl L. Knott.

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The authors declare that they have no competing or financial interests.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. All study methods were approved by the University of Maryland Institutional Review Board (#10-0691), and all participants provided written informed consent to participate.

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The original article has been corrected to update tables.

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Knott, C.L., Miech, E.J., Woodard, N. et al. The Role of Organizational Capacity in Intervention Efficacy in a Church-Based Cancer Education Program: A Configurational Analysis. Glob Implement Res Appl 3, 284–294 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43477-023-00089-0

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