The impact of fidelity and innovations on Healthy Families America programs

Fidelity to a program model and innovations added to the program model have been found to positively impact large scale program expansion and implementation (Blakely et al., 1987). Research examining the effectiveness of Healthy Families America (HFA) programs has been hindered by the differences that exist among HFA programs. This study examines the impact program fidelity and innovations have on outcome measures of updated immunizations, primary medical care providers, and participant retention for 102 HFA sites. Factor analysis and regression were used to analyze archival data. Results indicate that fidelity was positively related to percentage of participants with updated immunizations and primary medical care providers. Innovations, specifically additional services offered to participants and additional training opportunities for HFA staff, had positive relationships with participant retention