An Implementation and Process Evaluation Protocol for Cluster Randomized Control Trial of School-Based Autism Programs

From the abstract: "Although randomized control trials are considered the gold standard in efficacy research, implementation and process evaluations are increasingly recognized as an integral, complementary source of information, particularly for the evaluation of multifaceted interventions in complex, real-world settings. They may provide insights into trial processes and outcomes. This protocol paper describes an implementation and process evaluation conducted in parallel with a multisite cluster randomized control trial designed to assess the efficacy of two autism programs, Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) and Unstuck and On Target, in public middle school settings. The process of developing this implementation and process evaluation, specific methods employed, and anticipated findings are described. It is expected the evaluation will supplement and inform interpretation of the efficacy findings from the broader trial. Findings from this implementation and process evaluation may guide future efforts conducting similar parallel randomized control trials and implementation and process evaluations."