Closing the research-practice gap: factors affecting adoption and implementation of a children's mental health program.

Despite the availability of effective interventions, they are not widely used in community mental health centers. This study examined the adoption and implementation of The Arson Prevention Program for Children (TAPP-C), a program for juvenile firesetters developed at a teaching hospital and disseminated to community settings. Questionnaire data from mental health professionals were used to evaluate the roles of adopter, innovation, and dissemination characteristics in TAPP-C adoption and implementation. Results indicate that different factors are important at different diffusion stages. Moreover, they suggest that innovation characteristics may be particularly important to adoption, whereas adopter and dissemination characteristics may be more influential in implementation.