Clinical trial reveals organizational barriers to research engagement in community autism agencies, highlighting the need for reciprocal service partnerships.
Key Points
Identify implementation barriers, facilitators, and organizational climate factors influencing agency participation in a community-based autism intervention trial.
Conducted early trial analyses within an ongoing hybrid effectiveness–implementation clinical trial comparing the Early Start Denver Model to standard applied behavior analysis across 18 agencies and 113 providers in 13 states in the United States.
Assessed organizational context and evidence-based practice expectations, supports, and rewards using the Implementation Climate Scale.
Encountered recruitment and retention hurdles that required expanding eligibility criteria, conducting targeted outreach, and adapting implementation planning to reduce provider burden.
Implementation Climate Scale evaluations demonstrated a high perceived focus on delivering evidence-based practices alongside comparatively low perceived workplace rewards for these practices.
Agency leadership reported higher overall implementation climate scores relative to frontline providers, showing a divergence in perceived research and practice support.