Fidelity in After-School Program Intervention Research: A Systematic Review

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Objective: This study examined whether and to what extent researchers addressed intervention fidelity in research of after-school programs serving at-risk students. Method: Systematic review procedures were used to search, retrieve, select, and analyze studies. Fifty-five intervention studies were assessed. Results: Of the 55 studies examined, only 55% reported well-defined intervention procedures, 42% used an intervention manual, 33% provided training on the intervention, 24% provided supervision for the implementers, 29% measured fidelity, only 4% used fidelity data in their analysis, and no studies reported the reliability of fidelity measures. Conclusion: Findings indicate an overall lack of attention to and reporting of intervention fidelity in after-school intervention studies. 

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