The prevalence of inactivity remains high, with more than 80 percent of adults failing to meet physical activity guidelines. Numerous evidence-based interventions for physical activity promotion have been developed and tested to address this need, but are typically not scaled-up and sustained in the intended practice setting. Many of these physical activity promotion programs suggest community-based delivery, often requiring researchers to train delivery personnel on intervention components. However, there is a paucity of detail on for whom, under what conditions, and how training mechanism are effective in practice. The purpose of this research was to explore the questions related to the research, theory, and practice of training. For research, a mixed-methods exploration of delivery personnel characteristics and perceived barriers and facilitators before and after program delivery or non-delivery was conducted. For theory, a systematic review of physical activity trainings for community-based delivery personnel was conducted in the literature to determine the characteristics of those who were trained, the structural and mechanistic components of said trainings, and the effectiveness of these trainings. For practice, a case-study of existing training in a community based setting was conducted to determine training processes that are likely to be successful in the real world and to evaluate the feasibility of an observational tool for physical activity trainings. The results of this dissertation show that delivery personnel characteristics and skillset may impact the acceptability, appropriateness, and effectiveness of training. They also provide preliminary support for the inclusion and importance of peer support within physical activity trainings to increase the number and representativeness of people trained and increase comfort with the training material. Further, descriptions of training for in-person physical activity programs in community settings are vague and inadequate making them difficult to replicate. Taken together, these studies provide avenues for future research and practice to develop an evidence-base for training mechanisms. / Ph. D.

A translational gap exists between the development of an evidence-based health promotion intervention and its eventual implementation in the intended setting. This lack of translation impacts the uptake of health promotion interventions within delivery systems such as the Cooperative Extension Service (Extension). Within this system, Extension educators serve as the intermediaries addressing needs in the communities in which they are employed with support from Extension health specialists. Previous research has shown that educators utilize other peer educators and specialists to learn and adopt health promotion programming, but these studies are over two decades old (e.g., missing technological advances such as Internet and social media) and often focused on a single state Extension system. The purpose of this research was to understand how evidence-based health promotion intervention information is shared within Cooperative Extension by 1) identifying information sources and channels of Extension specialists and educators while 2) identifying the characteristics of an intervention that aid in the adoption and uptake of these health promotion interventions. The first mixed-methods study aimed to identify information sources and channels used by Extension educators from a national sample and learn their preferences for information delivery. Results of this study (Manuscript 1), identified specialists as the key information source Therefore, the second study (Manuscript 2) focused on Extension health specialists' preferences for information sources and channels while also 1) determine how specialists communicate with educators 2) preliminary thoughts on a dissemination intervention. The final study (Manuscript 3) explored the intervention characteristics that are both educator and specialists deemed most important to their adoption decision-making process. The results of this dissertation inform the development of a dissemination intervention to bridge the translational gap across Extension. The information sources and channels used and trusted by both Extension educators and specialists are highlighted in this work. Additionally, specialists have given insight for consideration for an online repository that can be used on demand to both facilitate the adoption and uptake of health promotion interventions as needed by Extension Educators. / Doctor of Philosophy / A translational gap exists between the development of an evidence-based health promotion intervention and its eventual implementation in the intended setting. This lack of translation impacts the uptake of health promotion interventions within delivery systems such as the Cooperative Extension Service (Extension). Within this system, Extension educators serve as the intermediaries addressing needs in the communities in which they are employed with support from Extension health specialists. Previous research has shown that educators utilize other peer educators and specialists to learn and adopt health promotion programming, but these studies are over two decades old (e.g., missing technological advances such as Internet and social media) and often focused on a single state Extension system. The purpose of this research was to understand how evidence-based health promotion intervention information is shared within Cooperative Extension by 1) identifying information sources and channels of Extension specialists and educators while 2) identifying the characteristics of an intervention (e.g., duration, dose, cost) that aid in the adoption and uptake of these health promotion interventions. The first mixed-methods study aimed to identify information sources and channels used by Extension educators from a national sample and learn their preferences for information delivery. Results of this study (Manuscript 1), identified specialists as a key information source Therefore, the second study (Manuscript 2) focused on Extension health specialists’ preferences for information sources and channels while also 1) determine how specialists communicate with educators 2) preliminary thoughts on a dissemination intervention. The final study (Manuscript 3) determined the intervention characteristics that are both educator and specialists deemed most important to their adoption decision-making process. The results of this dissertation inform the development of a dissemination intervention to bridge the translational gap across Extension. The information sources and channels used and trusted by both Extension educators and specialists are highlighted in this work. Additionally, specialists have given insight for consideration for an online repository that can be used on demand to both facilitate the adoption and uptake of health promotion interventions as needed by Extension Educator.