The role of organizational characteristics in intervention sustainment: findings from a quantitative analysis in 42 HIV testing clinics in Vietnam.

backgroundEvidence-based intervention (EBI) sustainment is one of public health's largest translational research problems. Fewer than half of public health EBIs are sustained long-term, and sustainment challenges are even more pressing in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Organizational characteristics, including organizations' inner structures, culture, and climate, may play a key role in EBI sustainment. However, little quantitative research has examined these relationships, particularly in LMICs.

methodsIn this observational study, we assessed the association between baseline organizational characteristics and EBI sustainment within a cluster randomized implementation trial in Vietnam testing strategies to scale-up Systems Navigation and Psychosocial Counseling (SNaP) for people who inject drugs (PWID) living with HIV across 42 HIV testing clinics. From the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment (EPIS) Framework, five baseline organizational characteristics were selected for investigation: 1) organizational readiness for implementing change; 2) implementation leadership; 3) implementation climate; 4) percent PWID; and 5) staff workload. Six to ten months post-study completion, clinic staff and leadership completed a survey that included the Provider Report of Sustainment Scale (PRESS), a measure of EBI sustainment across a clinic. We conducted clinic-level simple and multiple linear regression analyses to evaluate the association between organizational characteristics and sustainment.

results218 participants (94% completion rate) completed the PRESS survey. All implementation scales had good individual-level internal consistency reliability. Clinics with high organizational readiness to change at baseline had significantly greater SNaP sustainment than clinics with low organizational readiness to change (ß = 1.91, p = 0.015). None of the other organizational characteristics were associated with sustainment, controlling for study arm.

conclusionsWe identified the importance of organizational readiness for SNaP sustainment in Vietnam. This study adds to the evidence base around the relationship between organizational characteristics and HIV intervention sustainment and could inform the development of future sustainment strategies. We also identified several areas for organizational characteristic and sustainment measure advancement, including the need for pragmatic sustainment measures that also capture EBI adaptation. This research demonstrates that assessing clinics' organizational readiness pre-implementation and providing tailored support to those with low readiness scores could improve HIV intervention sustainment for key populations.