STAGE 5. Defining the action plan

What steps should be completed?

Step 1: Specify intervention actions

AGENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR ACTIONS

The people in the team or organisation who are responsible for the intervention are also responsible for its actions, and the success of the programme depends partly on their inclusion.

Prevention and/or risk or harm reduction interventions often include an intermediary population as part of the intervention team. These are people or groups (or other units) with influence in the community who act as intervention agents as their access, knowledge, contact and respect in the target population can make it easier to incorporate behavioural changes in the desired direction. Their profile varies according to the type of intervention, but teachers, family members, health workers and peers are some of the most common.

Some characteristics that can facilitate the choice of the most appropriate intermediary population are:

• Status and level of influence in the target population: profession, community leader, volunteer, peer, family, etc.

• Their knowledge of the target population.
• Their level of access and contact with the target population.
• The degree of credibility in the target population.
• Their willingness and motivation to get involved in the intervention.
• The territorial conditions of the location. 
• Individual characteristics, such as age or gender.

Ideally (although it is not always feasible), all the people involved in the intervention should be included and participate to some degree in the intervention planning process to ensure that their expectations and needs are met. It is also important to establish a system to connect the various people involved in the intervention.