Table 1.
RE-AIM Model dimensions and potential role of system science methods for each
| MODEL DIMENSIONS |
SYSTEMS SCIENCE METHODS | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| System Dynamics | Agent-Based Modeling | Social Network Analysis | |
| Reach: What proportion and how representative are participants of the target population? | Explicate determinants of less-than-optimal reach and potential solutions. | Critically synthesize existing knowledge and data to determine model specifications and settings; Articulate multi-level key influencing factors, the theoretical mechanistic relationships and establish parameters. | Identify peripheral and isolated members of the target population who may be difficult to reach. |
| Effectiveness: What is the success rate if implemented according to intervention protocol? | Study dynamic determinants of the impact of intervention, intended and otherwise; may quantify if value sufficient. | Simulate the impact of the intervention on agent behavior. | Test proximal and distal relational outcomes of programs (e.g., increased communication; increased social capital). |
| Adoption: What proportion of people/settings/practices will adopt/participate in the intervention? | Bring together potential adopters to study challenges to adoption | Explore spread of behaviors and reach of intervention by varying influencing factors. | Examine the role the relationships play in access to information about and decisions to adopt new interventions; Understand how individuals’ positions in the network influence their propensity to adopt the intervention; Identify influential community members who can assist in encouraging adoption. |
| Implementation: To what extent is the intervention implemented as intended in the real-world? | Diagram potential short term threats to successful implementation and indirect consequences of implementation that might undermine impact | Simulate “real-world” setting and explore impact of multiple intervention configurations (e.g. community wide verses spatially focused). | Understand how individuals’ positions in the network influence their frequency of implementation; Identify influential community members who can assist in implementation. |
| Maintenance: To what extent is the program sustained over time? What happens to the program over time? | Diagram potential threats to longer-term maintenance, and how each might be avoided/addressed | Run multiple iterations of the models to explore what happens to the spread and dynamics of targeted behaviors. | Identify areas of the network to strengthen for D&I efforts and create recommendations; Identify influential community members who can sustain the program over time |