Framework for Life Course Intervention Research

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The Life Course Intervention Research Framework sets out a proposed stepwise approach to intervention development incorporating the characteristics of life course interventions at each step. The content below is part of our Advancing Life Course Intervention Research resource.

Characteristics of Life Course Interventions

  • Developmentally Focused
  • Multi-level/Holistic
  • Equity Focused
  • Integrated Across Sectors
  • Strategically Timed
  • Strengths-based
  • Family-centered
  • Collaboratively Co-designed
  • Longitudinally Focused
  • Optimization Focused
  • Anti-Racist
  • Addresses Emerging Health Development Capabilities

Learn more about the Characteristics of Life Course Interventions

Framework

  1. Conception and Planning

    • Select interdisciplinary team  including youth, family and community representatives

    • Identify intervention target important to life course health

    • Perform knowledge synthesis

    • Analyze intervention context

  2. Design
    • Team co-designs intervention prototype
    • Determine study type
    • Form evaluation plan incorporating mixed methods, process and outcome measures
    • Obtain Ethics/IRB approval
    • Test intervention in a pilot study and revise based on results
  3. Implementation
    • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Conduct full implementation study of intervention
    • Consult with stakeholder advisory board throughout
    • Consider long period of follow-up, integrate intervention with existing systems and services
  4. Evaluation
    • ​​​​​​​Use life course health development (LCHD) approach to guide analytic framework
    • Include complex systems, analysis and measures of health development over time
    • Publish findings accessible to whole population, including intervention participants​​​​​​​
  5. Translation
    • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Amend intervention and tailor for different groups/populations
    • Conduct a series of efficacy/effectiveness trials
    • Use the model for improvement and diffusion of innovation principles and consider a learning collaborative approach to spread and scale effective interventions

Learn more about the Life Course Intervention Research Framework