An Exploration of Fidelity of Implementation in Drug Abuse Prevention Among Five Professional Groups.

To explore the extent of awareness among practitioners of the importance of fidelity of implementation and the factors that inhibit or encourage it, interviews were conducted with nine individuals in each of the following groups: 1) researchers who have developed and evaluated prevention curricula; 2) publishers of drug abuse prevention curricula; 3) school administrators; 4) teachers, and 5) State Safe Drug Free Schools Coordinators. Interviews with leading researchers found there is inconsistency in definition as well as a lack of standard measures and methodology to investigate fidelity. All of the groups agreed that training was critically important to fidelity of implementation. Strategies for promoting fidelity of implementation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]