Supporting South African High School Teachers' Implementation of a Prevention Program via Abridged Consultation: Outcomes and Moderators

Research is lacking on consultation support for school‐based evidence‐based programs (EBP) intended to prevent youths’ risky behaviors in schools in low‐resourced settings like high schools surrounding Cape Town, South Africa. Thus, this study’s objective was to examine implementation outcomes and moderators of an abridged consultation condition for supporting teachers in better implementing HealthWise, an EBP for preventing youth risky sexual and substance use behaviors. Twenty‐one schools with 33 teachers receiving abridged consultation (i.e., three consultation meetings, text message reminders, lesson plans, and support kits) were compared to 26 schools with 41 teachers that did not receive any consultation. Teachers with abridged consultation self‐reported delivering more HealthWise content. Moderation analyses found teachers with lower educational degrees, who received abridged consultation reported more student interest in HealthWise. When there was higher school‐level risk, teachers who received abridged consultation marginally self‐reported adapting HealthWise more. Findings suggest consultation support that is abridged or a lower dose than is typical can be feasible in such a low‐resourced, overburdened setting while still being associated with EBP coverage, student interest, and adaptation. However, moderation findings suggest contextual factors should be considered to match teachers/schools to the implementation support that best suits them. Highlights Implementation support may need to be tailored to fit the audience. In lower resourced settings, abridged consultation may be more feasible than frequent consultation. Abridged consultation can be associated with greater program implementation. Higher risk schools may benefit more from abridged consultation than lower risk schools. Start with teachers with lower educational degrees when only some can receive abridged consultation.