Intervention mapping is a protocol for developing theory-based and evidence-based health promotion programs. Intervention Mapping describes the process of health promotion program planning in six steps:
Contents
- the needs assessment based on the PRECEDE-PROCEED model
- the definition of performance and change objectives based upon scientific analyses of health problems and problem causing factors;
- the selection of theory-based intervention methods and practical applications to change (determinants of) health-related behavior;
- the production of program components, design and production;
- the anticipation of program adoption, implementation and sustainability; and
- the anticipation of process and effect evaluation.
Intervention mapping is characterized by three perspectives: an ecological approach, participation of all stakeholders, and the use of theories and evidence. Although intervention mapping is presented as a series of steps, the authors see the planning process as iterative rather than linear. Program planners move back and forth between tasks and steps. The process is also cumulative: each step is based on previous steps, and inattention to a particular step may lead to mistakes and inadequate decisions.
Brief history and purpose of the protocol
Intervention mapping was first developed and introduced in 1998 by L. Kay Bartholomew, Guy S. Parcel & Gerjo Kok, with an article in Health Education & Behavior. In 2001 the first edition of the book followed, with Nell H. Gottlieb as 4th author. In 2006, the 2nd edition was published, and in 2011, the 3rd edition, with Maria E. Fernández as 5th author. The 4th edition appeared in 2016, authored by L. Kay Bartholomew Eldridge, Christine M. Markham, Robert A.C. Ruiter, Maria Fernández, Gerjo Kok & Guy S. Parcel. This was the last edition led by L. Kay Bartholomew Eldridge, who passed away in February 2016.
Intervention mapping was developed as a reaction to a lack of comprehensive frameworks for health promotion program development. Intervention mapping aims to help health promoters develop the best possible intervention. The key words in this protocol are planning, research, and theory. Intervention mapping provides a vocabulary for intervention planning, procedures for planning activities, and technical assistance with identifying theory-based determinants and methods for change. Intervention mapping can also help in adapting existing interventions to new populations and settings, and provides a taxonomy of behavior change methods that can be used to code intervention content. In the health promotion field, intervention mapping has successfully been applied in various settings, to a wide range of different behaviors and populations. It may help planners develop theory- and evidence-based interventions to promote healthy behavior.
More specifically, intervention mapping ensures that theoretical models and empirical evidence guide planners in two areas: (1) the identification of behavioral and environmental determinants related to a target problem, and (2) the selection of the most appropriate theoretical methods and practical applications to address the identified determinants. Although intervention mapping is considered a helpful tool to design programs, it is true that it is a complex and time-consuming process, reflecting the difficulty of changing health behaviors. Intervention mapping has been described as tiresome, complex, elaborate, expensive and time consuming. Interestingly, despite these criticisms, the same authors also concluded that intervention mapping helped to bring the development of interventions to a higher level, indicating that advantages outweighed disadvantages. Intervention mapping is developed in the health promotion field but can easily be applied in other fields, such as promoting energy conservation.