Frequently Asked Questions

A: 1) Suggested citation for general information about Research-tested Intervention Programs Website:

A: A readability score is the grade level you need to have completed to be able to read the text. Pros and cons of readability formulas.

A: Readability formulas measure the grade level that a person must have completed in order to read a text. You can use them to assess if a text will be too hard for your reader. Readability is measured without actual readers. Readability formulas can NOT tell you if a person will understand the text. Nor can they measure the complexity of a word or phrase's meaning. Specific readability measures.

A: For products which are available for download on the RTIPs website, the program's primary contact and/or Principal Investigator has approved the dissemination of their materials for non-commercial purposes.

A: RTIPs neither endorses nor recommends any of the products, processes, or services listed. Rather the information is provided to help you make an informed decision about the best program options to meet your cancer control needs. The views and opinions of authors expressed on this Web site do not necessarily state nor reflect those of the U.S. Government, and they may not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.

Some programs on the RTIPs Web site may be designated as model programs by other Cancer Control P.L.A.N.E.T. partners (e.g. SAMHSA, CDC). RTIPs provides this information to the user and a link to that agency's Web site so that the user can determine the exact meaning of such a designation.

A: Unless a program's materials are only available for order through the program developer's Web site, for which a link is provided on RTIPs, you may order one complete set of program products (e.g. print, audio, video material) for free on CD-Rom or download them if you have the computer capacity and telecommunications bandwidth to do so. Simply click on the "Preview, Download, Order" link below the program materials pictured on the Web site; this will bring you to the page which will help you to complete your order or download. If ordering, a CD Rom will be shipped to you within 7-10 business days. If you do not have the capability to print from CD Rom, your CD can be taken to any local print shop for paper copies.

A: RTIPs-listed programs have been shown to be effective in the populations and settings in which they were studied. It is more likely to ensure success from the adoption and/or adaptation of a research-tested intervention program, which has been systematically tested in the field, than to create a new program for the same population delivered in the same setting.

When no research-tested intervention programs are available to meet your comprehensive cancer control needs (in terms of populations or settings), then creating a new program may be the best solution. However, in creating the new program it would be wise to consider:

1. reviewing the available research evidence of similar intervention approaches summarized on Cancer Control P.L.A.N.E.T. Research Synthesis, and
2. involving potential cancer control intervention research experts from NCI’s Research to Reality (R2R) community of practice who may be able to help you with your research efforts. Following is a link to start an online discussion with the R2R community of practice, after completing registration on the R2R site: https://researchtoreality.cancer.gov/discussions. If your new program is tested in a peer-reviewed study and published in a peer-reviewed journal, it could be listed on the RTIPs Web site for use by others addressing a similar comprehensive cancer control issue.

A: This site provides a consumer-reports-like list of programs that have been reviewed by a panel of topic experts in the field. Programs are rated on 3 criteria which include the following: research integrity, intervention impact, and dissemination capability. For more detailed information, please refer to the program ratings.

A: Cancer control intervention programs that

1. have research findings that have been published in a peer-reviewed journal
2. the study must have produced one or more positive behavioral and/or psychosocial outcomes (p≤.05) among individuals, communities, or populations
3. the evidence of outcomes must be demonstrated in at least one study, using an experimental or quasi-experimental design
4. have messages, materials and other intervention components that include English and can be disseminated in a U.S. community or clinical setting are posted on this site with the approval of the principal investigator
5. the intervention study has been conducted within the last 10 years

If your program meets these criteria, please visit the on-line program registration form to submit the information regarding your program for further consideration for the RTIPs web site. If your program does not meet these criteria but you would like to find out how it might, please contact RTIPs@mail.nih.gov, for more information.

A: Yes, programs will be added to this Web site on an ongoing basis. As cancer control intervention studies are published in peer-reviewed journals, they will be identified as potential submissions to the RTIPs database of programs. Initially programs will be released by topic area in conjunction with the release of evidence from the systematic review of intervention approaches (see Cancer Control P.L.A.N.E.T. Research Synthesis) that are available for those topics.

A: You will want to consider the population served in the original research setting, the environment in which the research was conducted, and the method of delivery. For further guidance in adapting a program to the local community context, two resources are available on-line. The Program Adaptation Guidelines, which is an assessment checklist and Using What Works, which is a train-the-trainer course.

A: Research-tested means that the program was tested and has research findings that have been published in a peer-reviewed journal. A program may not experience the same degree of efficacy once it leaves the research setting if components used, the environment of the intervention, or the population served changes. Please refer to the Program Adaptation Guidelines for guidance.

A: To be featured on this Web site, each program (spanning the topics of tobacco control, physical activity, sun safety, breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening, informed decision making for cancer screening, diet/nutrition, survivorship and public health genomics) must have been published in a peer-reviewed journal; produced one or more positive behavioral and/or psychosocial outcomes (p≤.05) among individuals, communities, or populations; evidence of outcomes must be demonstrated in at least one study, using an experimental or quasi-experimental design; and unless otherwise copyrighted by the program developer, all programs make available the products or materials that were used in the research for the larger research and cancer control community, and the intervention study had been conducted within the last 10 years.

A: No, RTIPs product materials in PDF format are not Section 508 compliant. However, should a user require such material to be made accessible, a written request may be sent by using the "Contact Us" link: http://rtips.cancer.gov/rtips/contact.do The requested product materials will be made accessible and provided directly to the recipient as efficiently as possible.

A: Please see the outcomes matrix for the required outcomes evaluated for a given RTIPs topic area.

A: Recently, we enhanced the usability of our website and modified the inclusion criteria for programs on the site. Programs were considered for archiving if it met any of the following criteria:

• The intervention outcome finding(s) were not published in a peer-reviewed journal.
• The study did not produce one or more positive behavioral and/or psychosocial outcomes (p≤.05) among individuals, communities, or populations.
• The evidence of outcomes were not demonstrated in any of the studies, using an experimental or quasi-experimental design.
• The intervention did not have messages, materials and/or other components that include English and can be disseminated in a U.S. community or clinical setting.
• The intervention was not conducted within the last 10 years.
• The intervention was computer-tailored, disseminated by NCI and could not be fully implemented by users.
• The intervention had incomplete and unobtainable materials.

If the program no longer meets the criteria, it has been removed from the active website and transferred to the RTIPs archival website (http://rtips.cancer.gov/rtips/archive.do).

A: At this time, the program summary is not formatted to be downloaded/printed as a PDF but we are in the process of exploring how to make this possible. Certain browsers will allow you to download the program as a PDF (e.g. Google Chrome) while others require users to install a PDF printer.