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Race and Equity in Statewide Implementation Programs: An Application of the Policy Ecology of Implementation Framework

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Abstract

Although the literature is growing regarding large-scale, system-wide implementation programs, the broader political and social contexts, including race and ethnicity, are frequently ignored. Using the Policy Ecology of Implementation framework (Raghavan et al., Implement Sci 3:26, 2008), Minnesota’s CEMIG is examined to investigate the role of social and political contexts in the implementation process and the barriers they create. Data from 22 interview transcripts from DHS administrators, agency grant managers, university educators, advocacy group representatives, and mental health board members, along with more than 1000 grant documents were qualitatively analyzed using content analysis to reveal three themes concerning how the participants experienced program implementation: invisibility, isolation, and inequity. Findings demonstrate the participants perceived that the grant program perpetuated inequities by neglecting to promote the program, advocate for clinicians of color, and coordinate isolated policy ecology systems. Strategies for future large-scale, system-wide mental health program implementation are provided.

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Fig. 1

(Adapted from Raghavan et al. 2008)

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Funding

Minnesota’s DHS funded data collection, and data analysis was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number TL1TR000422. The methods, observations, and interpretations put forth in this article do not necessarily represent those of the funding agency.

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  1. University of Washington, 4101 15th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA

    Martha J. Aby

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  1. Martha J. Aby
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Correspondence to Martha J. Aby.

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The Human Subjects Division within the University of Washington declined oversight of this study, stating that it did not meet the federal definition of research.

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Aby, M.J. Race and Equity in Statewide Implementation Programs: An Application of the Policy Ecology of Implementation Framework. Adm Policy Ment Health 47, 946–960 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-020-01033-2

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