Defining program sustainability: differing views of stakeholders.
OBJECTIVE
Sustainability is a highly desired outcome of health promotion programs, yet it often eludes program planners looking to achieve it. This study aimed to uncover how the goal of program sustainability was interpreted by key stakeholders from three fall prevention program demonstration sites.


METHODS
Collected as part of a larger study on program sustainability that made use of a multiple case study methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants involved in a wide range of program initiatives throughout the two-year funding period.


RESULTS
Forty participants across the three sites provided definitions of sustainability. Most stakeholders reported that it was some version of the general fall prevention program that should be sustained. Fewer stakeholders reported that it was the successful elements or solutions to the program goals that should be sustained. The most common suggestions reported by stakeholders for how sustainability should be achieved were awareness raising and securing new funding sources. Although a number of key elements emerged, there were significant differences in stakeholders' definitions of sustainability, both within and between demonstration sites.


CONCLUSIONS
This research provided insight into the unique meanings of sustainability held by different stakeholders during their involvement in a fall prevention program. The array of definitions held by stakeholders demonstrates how easily the efforts of those involved can become fragmented and, therefore, less effective in reaching the end goal of program sustainability when the project team is not working from the same definition of what that goal means.
Hanson
Heather M
HM
Graduate Program in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, 1201 Western Road, London, ON N6G 1H1. hhanson2@uwo.ca
Salmoni
Alan W
AW
Volpe
Richard
R
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012111:Residence Characteristics