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This cyber-seminar will highlight three of the R2R Mentorship Program projects that are working with community partners to adapt and implement evidence-based interventions.  Kiameesha Evans is adapting and implementing the diet and nutrition program, Body and Soul, to include a physical activity component and is piloting the intervention with several faith-based organizations in New Jersey.  Venice Haynes has partnered with a local foundation to provide technical assistance in the adaptation of a cervical cancer program, Con Amor Aprendemos (With Love We Learn), for African American faith-based communities in Atlanta. Finally, Charlene Mitchell adapted a sun safety program, Pool Cool, for implementation at rural Idaho public pools.  Kiameesha, Venice, and Charlene will each share an overview of their projects, outcomes, and lessons learned about partnership, adaptation, and implementation relevant to other communities and researchers interested in these types of cancer control interventions.

Launched in 2003, Cancer Control P.L.A.N.E.T.(Plan, Link, Act, Network with Evidence-based Tools) and its satellite site, Research-tested Intervention Programs (RTIPs), were developed to address the needs of public health professionals seeking evidence-based resources for their cancer control planning activities. A collaboration between AHRQ, CDC, SAMHSA and NCI was established and as a result the “one stop shop” of Cancer Control P.L.A.N.E.T. was born.

A major challenge facing public health researchers and practitioners today is how to partner with other organizations, agencies, and groups to collaboratively address public health goals while effectively leveraging resources. The process by which organizations have engaged partners in collaboration has varied, with few ways to measure the success of these partnerships. Public leaders are eager to understand how to analyze these collaborations to determine whether the time and resources spent building these partnerships are worth the investment.

Public health researchers and practitioners often work to solve complex population and health issues, such as obesity and chronic disease, which are deeply embedded within the fabric of society. As such, the solutions often require intervention and engagement with key stakeholders and organizations across many levels ranging from local entities (schools, churches, and work environments) to regional systems (health departments and hospital networks) to entire countries (national agencies). This multi-level, multi-participant view is at the heart of systems thinking, a process of understanding how parts influence one another within a whole.