TY - JOUR
T1 - Working on Womanhood (WOW)
T2 - A participatory formative evaluation of a community-developed intervention
AU - Ford-Paz, Rebecca E.
AU - Crown, Laurel
AU - Lawton, Kathryn
AU - Goldenthal, Hayley
AU - Day, Gail
AU - Coyne, Claire A.
AU - Gill, Tara
AU - Harris, Ngozi
AU - Blakemore, Sheree
AU - Cicchetti, Colleen
N1 - Funding Information:
The research described herein was supported by a grant from Evergreen Invitational Women’s Health Grants Initiative (Ford-Paz & Day [Co-PIs] ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2019/2
Y1 - 2019/2
N2 - The well-documented disparities in availability, accessibility, and quality of behavioral health services suggest the need for innovative programs to address the needs of ethnic minority youth. The current study aimed to conduct a participatory, formative evaluation of “Working on Womanhood” (WOW), a community-developed, multifaceted, school-based intervention serving primarily ethnic minority girls living in underserved urban communities. Specifically, the current study aimed to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and initial promise of WOW using community-based participatory research (CBPR) and represented the third phase of a community-academic partnership. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 960 WOW participants in 21 urban public schools, as well as WOW counselors, parents, and school staff over the course of one academic year. Results demonstrated evidence of acceptability of WOW and noteworthy improvements for WOW participants in targeted outcomes, including mental health, emotion regulation, and academic engagement. Findings also indicated several challenges to implementation feasibility and acceptability, including screening and enrollment processes and curriculum length. Additionally, we discuss how, consistent with participatory and formative research, findings were used by program implementers to inform program improvements, including modifications to screening processes, timelines, curriculum, and trainings – all in preparation for a rigorous effectiveness evaluation.
AB - The well-documented disparities in availability, accessibility, and quality of behavioral health services suggest the need for innovative programs to address the needs of ethnic minority youth. The current study aimed to conduct a participatory, formative evaluation of “Working on Womanhood” (WOW), a community-developed, multifaceted, school-based intervention serving primarily ethnic minority girls living in underserved urban communities. Specifically, the current study aimed to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and initial promise of WOW using community-based participatory research (CBPR) and represented the third phase of a community-academic partnership. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 960 WOW participants in 21 urban public schools, as well as WOW counselors, parents, and school staff over the course of one academic year. Results demonstrated evidence of acceptability of WOW and noteworthy improvements for WOW participants in targeted outcomes, including mental health, emotion regulation, and academic engagement. Findings also indicated several challenges to implementation feasibility and acceptability, including screening and enrollment processes and curriculum length. Additionally, we discuss how, consistent with participatory and formative research, findings were used by program implementers to inform program improvements, including modifications to screening processes, timelines, curriculum, and trainings – all in preparation for a rigorous effectiveness evaluation.
KW - Acceptability
KW - Bottom-up approach
KW - Community-based participatory research
KW - Community-developed intervention
KW - Ethnic minority youth
KW - Feasibility
KW - Formative evaluation
KW - Girls
KW - Initial promise
KW - Participatory evaluation
KW - School-based mental health
KW - Social-emotional learning
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85056666122&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85056666122&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2018.10.007
DO - 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2018.10.007
M3 - Article
C2 - 30458364
AN - SCOPUS:85056666122
SN - 0149-7189
VL - 72
SP - 237
EP - 249
JO - Evaluation and Program Planning
JF - Evaluation and Program Planning
ER -