Graduate Program in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, 1201 Western Road, London, ON N6G 1H1.
Can J Public Health. 2009 Jul-Aug;100(4):304-9. doi: 10.1007/BF03403952.
Sustainability is a highly desired outcome of health promotion programs, yet it often eludes program planners looking to achieve it. This study aimed to uncover how the goal of program sustainability was interpreted by key stakeholders from three fall prevention program demonstration sites.
Collected as part of a larger study on program sustainability that made use of a multiple case study methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants involved in a wide range of program initiatives throughout the two-year funding period.
Forty participants across the three sites provided definitions of sustainability. Most stakeholders reported that it was some version of the general fall prevention program that should be sustained. Fewer stakeholders reported that it was the successful elements or solutions to the program goals that should be sustained. The most common suggestions reported by stakeholders for how sustainability should be achieved were awareness raising and securing new funding sources. Although a number of key elements emerged, there were significant differences in stakeholders' definitions of sustainability, both within and between demonstration sites.
This research provided insight into the unique meanings of sustainability held by different stakeholders during their involvement in a fall prevention program. The array of definitions held by stakeholders demonstrates how easily the efforts of those involved can become fragmented and, therefore, less effective in reaching the end goal of program sustainability when the project team is not working from the same definition of what that goal means.
可持续性是健康促进计划的一个理想目标，但对于希望实现这一目标的项目规划者来说，它往往难以实现。本研究旨在揭示三个跌倒预防计划示范项目的主要利益相关者如何解释计划可持续性的目标。
作为一项关于计划可持续性的更大研究的一部分，该研究采用了多案例研究方法，在两年的资助期内，对参与各种计划举措的主要利益相关者进行了半结构化访谈。
来自三个地点的 40 名参与者对可持续性进行了定义。大多数利益相关者报告说，应该维持的是某种版本的一般跌倒预防计划。较少的利益相关者报告说，应该维持的是成功的项目目标的要素或解决方案。利益相关者为实现可持续性提出的最常见建议是提高认识和确保新的资金来源。尽管出现了一些关键要素，但利益相关者对可持续性的定义在示范项目内部和之间存在显著差异。
这项研究深入了解了不同利益相关者在参与跌倒预防计划时对可持续性的独特含义。利益相关者持有的各种定义表明，如果项目团队没有从计划可持续性目标的相同定义出发，那么当项目团队没有从同一定义出发时，相关人员的努力很容易变得分散，从而降低实现项目可持续性最终目标的有效性。
