Selecting Appropriate Intervention Activities

The intervention is the activity or experience to which those in the target population will be exposed or in which they will take part. It is usually thought of as something that occurs between the beginning and the end of a program or between pre- and post-program measurements. An intervention may be a single activity, or it may be a combination of two or more activities. Research shows that interventions that include several activities are more likely to have an effect on the target population that those that consist of only a single activity. Few people change their behavior based on a single exposure; instead, multiple exposures are generally needed to change most behaviors. It stands to reason that "hitting" the target population from several angles or through multiple channels should increase the chances of making an impact.

Intervention activities should be based on a sound rationale as opposed to chance. The following are seven major questions that need to be considered when creating health promotion interventions.

  1. Do the intervention activities fit the goals and objectives of the program?
  2. At what level(s) of influence will the intervention be focused?
    Decide at what level(s) you can best obtain the goals and objectives of the program.
  3. Are the activities based on an appropriate theory?
    Interventions have a much greater chance of reaching the desired outcome if they are planned using sound learning and educational theories and models that have proved their worth.
  4. Is the intervention an appropriate fit for the target population?
  5. Are the necessary resources available to implement the intervention?
  6. What types of intervention activities are known to be effective (i.e.,
    have been successfully used in previous programs) in dealing with the program focus?
  7. Would it be better to use an intervention that consists of a single activity or one that is made up of multiple activities?

Advantages of Using Several Activities:

  1. "Hitting" the target population in a variety of way
  2. Appealing to the variety of learning styles within any target population
  3. Keeping the health message constantly before the target population
  4. Hoping that at least one activity appeals enough to the target population to help bring about the expected outcome
  5. Appealing to the various senses (such as sight, hearing, touch) of each individual in the target population.

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See also > Center for Health Promotion > Health Promotion and Chronic Disease