Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Objectives: This qualitative inquiry was designed to explore factors that influence the adoption of a school health program (Go Girls!) Methods: Using multiple cases, the focus was an in-depth exploration of perspectives of the decision-making process surrounding the program adoption. Analysis of participants' perspectives as expressed through semi-structured interviews and document analysis will provide holistic understanding of the process. Roger's Diffusion of Innovation theory guides the design and analysis of data. Four schools within the Lakehead Public School Board where the program have been offered and adopted were invited to participate in this study. Key informants within the schools were chosen in order to capture the perspectives from various hierarchical levels. Results: A key factor across all cases is the fit of the program within the schools' values and goals. That is, the program appropriately complements the schools' set goal. Another emerging factor across the cases is the ease of program delivery. Conclusion: With the increasing priority to address healthy-active living among school-aged children, public health practitioners should consider the complexity of proposed school health programs and ensure that initiatives do not require additional resources from the school's already strained pool of resource