Dimensions of Community and Organizational Readiness for Change
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What Is the Purpose of This Review?
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• The purpose of this review was to integrate existing models of community and organizational readiness and address the following questions: What is readiness for innovative health programs? Given this definition, how should it be assessed?
What Is the Problem?
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• Readiness is the belief that change is needed and the ability to make change happen.
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• Readiness assessments have been applied to disease prevention, environmental and social change, and individual behavioral change interventions.
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• Research shows that readiness can influence whether health interventions are implemented in and ultimately integrated into communities.
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• Although there is interest in readiness, it is unclear what aspects of readiness for change are most important for measurement and community-based program planning.
What Are the Findings?
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• A review of 13 published studies revealed that measures of community and organizational readiness for change include:
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1 Community and organizational climate that facilitates change
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2 Attitudes and current efforts towards prevention
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3 Commitment to change
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4 Capacity to implement change
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Who Should Care Most?
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• Health care policymakers and funders.
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• Community-based organizations and community health centers.
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• Community leaders.
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• Community program planners.
Recommendations for Action
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• Establish a workgroup of community members, leaders, and stakeholders to conduct the community readiness assessment.
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• Community-based participatory research partnerships, in efforts to focus on public health problems, may consider using readiness assessments as a tool for tailoring intervention efforts to the needs of the community. [End Page 119]
