The Implementation Core has three major objectives. They are:

1. To enhance the diffusion, adoption, and implementation of Michigan Prevention Research Center interventions;
2. To design and conduct effectiveness trials and demonstration projects for MPRC preventive interventions that have already shown high levels of efficacy; and
3. To develop theoretical principles and best practices for diffusion, adoption and implementation of preventive interventions.

Implementation in Israel:

A research grant proposal submitted by Arie Shirom (PI), Tel- Aviv University, with Richard Price and Amiram Vinokur (Co-PIs) has been funded by the U.S.- Israel Binational Science Foundation. The three-year grant will support the evaluation of the Israeli home grown program which is similar in its principle and administration to the JOBS intervention. The evaluation is designed as a randomized field experiment and will be conducted in the existing system of service for unemployed workers that is provided by the Ministry of Labor and Welfare. The purpose of the evaluation is to identify opportunities, barriers and cultural differences in implementation of the JOBS intervention in the Israel site. Key participants include: Arie Shirom, Richard Price, and Amiram Vinokur.

Implementation in Finland.

In collaboration with our colleague Jukka Vuori, Chief in the Section of Health Psychology in the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, who was a visiting scientist with the Michigan Prevention Research Center in 1995, an effectiveness trial of the JOBS program will be conducted in Finland. Dr. Vuori is currently working with the Finnish Social Security Agency to secure funding for the implementation trial. This effectiveness research study will be carried out over the next several years. Key participants include: Jukka Vuori, Richard Price, and Amiram Vinokur.

Implementation in California:

MPRC researchers are working collaboratively with scientists from the Manpower Development Research Corporation to obtain support from the California Wellness Foundation to carry out a demonstration of the JOBS program in California. If funded, the program will be implemented in three sites over a five year period and involve approximately 6,000 Californians. Key participants include: Richard Price, Amiram Vinokur, Catherine Buck, Paula Wishart, Amanda Sonnega, Sharon Rowser, Evan Weissman, David Navarro, John Wallace, and Maxine Bailey.

Pilot Research on Organizational Readiness in Michigan and Maryland.

Beginning in 1996, a team led by Price, Vinokur, and Caplan will conduct coordinated pilot research studies in Maryland and Michigan on factors affecting organizational readiness (Price & Vinokur, 1995) to adopt the JOBS program in state employment agencies. The research will involve focus groups, organizational surveys, site visits, and intensive interviews, and will identify key barriers and incentives to adoption and implementation of the JOBS program.

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