Table 1. Key areas of focus for feasibility studies and how they were addressed in the current study.
Key area* | Definition | Outcomes of interest | Assessed in this study? |
---|---|---|---|
Acceptability | Is a new program suitable, satisfying, or attractive to participants? | Satisfaction, intent to continue use, perceived appropriateness | Yes. By participant satisfaction surveys, exit interviews, recruitment |
Demand | Is a new program likely to be used? | Actual use, expressed interest or intention to use, perceived demand | Yes. By participant satisfaction surveys, exit interviews, adherence, retention |
Implementation | Can a new program be successfully delivered to intended participants in some defined, but not fully controlled, context? | Degree of execution, success or failure of execution | No. This study was conducted in a rather controlled context. Please see discussion for future directions. |
Practicality | Can a program be carried out with intended participants using existing means, resources, and circumstances and without outside intervention? | Amount/type of resources needed to implement; factors affecting ease or difficulty of implementation; efficiency, speed, or quality of implementation; positive/negative effects on target participants; ability of participants to carry out intervention activities; cost analysis | Somewhat. We will be able to comment on positive/negative effects on participants (improved physical activity). Future directions include cost analyses, which have already been conducted on similar programs in different populations and support practicality.69 See discussion for future directions. |
Adaption | To what extent does an existing program perform when changes are made for a new format or with a different population? | Degree to which similar outcomes are obtained in new format, process outcomes comparison between intervention use in two populations | Somewhat. We will be able to compare findings with our participants to past studies using similar interventions in different populations. |
Integration | To what extent can a new program be integrated within an existing system? | Perceived fit with infrastructure, perceived sustainability | No. Program was implemented by research staff in current study. Please see discussion for future directions. |
Expansion | To what extent can a previously tested program, process, approach, or system be expanded to provide a new program or service? | Costs to organization and policy bodies, fit with organizational goals and culture, positive or negative effects on organization, disruption due to expansion component | No. Please see discussion for future directions. |
Limited efficacy | Does the new program show promise of being successful with the intended population, even in a highly controlled setting? | Intended effects of program or process on key intermediate variables, effect-size estimation, maintenance of changes from initial change | Yes. We will examine group differences in changes in physical activity from baseline to 6 and 12 months. Data will be used to estimate effect sizes for future power analyses. |
Adapted from Bowen and colleagues26