Validation of the Intervention Preparedness Tool: a short measure to assess important precursors for successful implementation of organisational interventions

Process evaluation enables us to gain insights into the complex organisational intervention processes, but has mostly taken place post intervention, thus failing to support implementation. Using the theory of planned behaviour, we developed and validated a 7-item process evaluation questionnaire (the Intervention Preparedness Tool) that aims to evaluate the preparatory phases of the intervention and may be used to optimise the intervention process. The study was conducted in two Italian hospitals participating in an organisational intervention (N = 1,654 healthcare workers).We conducted exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on one half of the sample and cross-validated the best factor structure identified through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the other half of the sample. Results showed that the Intervention Preparedness Tool composed of 7 items has a three-factor structure (readiness for change, intervention-context fit, and communication). To perform nomological validation, we correlated the Intervention Preparedness Tool with seven psychosocial working conditions (demand, control, peer support, supervisor support, roles, relationships, changes) and job satisfaction. We found that the dimensions of the Intervention Preparedness Tool were significantly related to these working conditions and job satisfaction suggesting that the organisational context may be related to participants' appraisals of the early phases of participatory interventions.