By Jason Hreha

Glossary

RE-AIM

Reviewed by Jason Hreha

Published 1 min read

What is RE-AIM?

RE-AIM is a framework for planning and evaluating interventions through five dimensions: reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance. It was introduced by Russell Glasgow, Thomas Vogt, and Shawn Boles.

What the dimensions cover

  • Reach concerns who participates and how representative they are.
  • Effectiveness concerns important outcomes, including possible harms.
  • Adoption concerns the settings and people who deliver a program.
  • Implementation concerns delivery, adaptations, and costs.
  • Maintenance concerns sustained outcomes and continued organizational use.

Why RE-AIM matters

A useful outcome among a small, selected group does not by itself establish population impact. RE-AIM encourages evaluators to consider participation and delivery alongside outcomes rather than reporting only a treatment effect.

RE-AIM example

Imagine a diabetes prevention program that helps the people who complete it, but enrolls few eligible people and closes when its grant ends. Effectiveness alone would miss the problems with reach and maintenance. RE-AIM makes those questions part of the evaluation.

Sources

The original 1999 RE-AIM paper introduced the framework. The official RE-AIM definitions explain the dimensions and their use in current evaluation practice.