Planning of Youth Violence-Prevention Programs: Development of a Guiding Measure

This article describes the development and pilot testing of the Good-Fit Measure (GFM), a measure that public health nurses and other providers involved with planning multidisciplinary violence prevention efforts can use. Themes derived from a series of focus group discussions from a larger study, including individuals (n = 83) from multiple community sectors, guided development of the measure. Participants in three follow-up focus groups (n = 32 participants) reviewed the measure, which was then pilot tested in two phases. Guided by information from the first phase, in which respondents indicated the measure was too complex, the measure was simplified and field tested in phase two. Results from both phases were similar. The GFM score was significantly higher for the program selected by the respondent before completing the measure than the nonselected program (p < 0.01). Participants indicated that the tool was helpful in articulating the specific factors for their decisions. Participants underscored the utility of the tool in facilitating program planning by individual providers and interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary teams. The GFM provides systematic consideration of multiple factors that motivate public health nurses and other community providers in their decision-making process when planning prevention strategies, increasing the likelihood of successful programs.