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The following is a summary of “Developing intervention fidelity strategies for a behaviour change intervention delivered in primary care dental practices: the RETURN fidelity strategy,” published in the February 2025 issue of BMC Primary Care by Lowers et al.
Behavior changes interventions in primary dental care face unique challenges, risking validity issues. Fidelity strategies enhance scientific rigor and optimize implementation.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study on intervention fidelity strategies for behavior change in primary dental care, addressing challenges to validity and research delivery. Guided by NIH BCC recommendations, the strategy enhances scientific rigor and optimizes implementation.
They used 53 hours of observations and 19 qualitative interviews (17 patients, 2 staff) from the RETURN feasibility study to develop an intervention fidelity strategy for the main trial.
The results showed a fidelity strategy structured around the 5 BCC domains—design, training, delivery, receipt, and enactment—that aligned with their goals and was implemented in the RETURN main trial.
Investigators developed the RETURN fidelity strategy based on the primary dental care setting’s unique challenges. The strategy served as a blueprint for researchers and complemented the RETURN results.
Source: bmcprimcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875-025-02732-1
