The focus of this course is on Intervention Mapping (IM). IM is an approach for developing theory- and evidence-based behaviour and environmental change interventions. IM can guide intervention planners through program development, implementation and evaluation, thereby demystifying and monitoring the development process and increasing the likelihood of intervention success.

IM comprises six steps: 1) conducting a needs assessment and drafting a logic model of the problem, 2) determining program outcomes and objectives, 3) designing the program with theoretical methods and practical applications, 4) producing the program, 5) planning for implementation, and 6) planning program evaluations. IM guides intervention developers through each of these steps via specific tasks, which are included in the workbook that students complete in the context of this course. The tasks in each step generates a product that, in turn, provides the basis for subsequent steps. Throughout this course, you conduct these tasks and go through the first five steps of Intervention Mapping. 

Knowledge and understanding

…describe the Intervention Mapping approach;

…develop a theory-based health promotion program using the Intervention Mapping approach;

… integrate individual and environmental level explanations and theories.

Application of knowledge and understanding

…integrate their knowledge of theories and evidence concerning health behaviors in the Intervention Mapping approach;

…translate general health promotion goals into specific program objectives;

…integrate ideas, theories and evidence in a new, realistic and promising health promotion program;

…adequately justify the decisions they made in the subsequent steps of the Intervention Mapping approach.

Making judgments

…acknowledge the utility and necessity of using a planned development approach like Intervention Mapping for the development of theory- and evidence-based health promotion programs.

…select determinants using appropriate methodology and statistics.

Communication

…communicate own opinion and ideas;

…critically discuss their own and other’s opinions, ideas, and work.

Learning skills

...effectively cooperate in small groups with persons of different background and initial level;

…apply the Intervention Mapping approach to other health problems.