Abstract for: Prioritization of Recommendations in Group Model Building: APEASE framework on Interventions to Address Extreme Heat and Health

Group Model Building (GMB) is an effective tool to generate community, self-determined solutions to an identified problem. We present the APEASE method as a process for prioritizing the solutions generated in support of future decision making. We applied the APEASE framework to assist our GMB team in prioritizing recommendations -- Acceptability, Practicability, Effectiveness, Affordability, Spill-Over effects, and Equity. The GMB workshops included this prioritization exercise. The process was assisted by a literature review, facilitation through the APEASE process, voting exercises, and final reporting out. We present the methods and approach to support other GMB practitioners. The results show the process, voting outcomes, and resulting consensus from workshops held in April and May of 2025. We also discuss feedback on the barriers and facilitators to using APEASE. The APEASE process is one way to prioritize recommendations from GMB. The theoretical basis in behavior change allows practitioners and researchers to borrow measures and approaches from this established discipline to the scale and spread of interventions. We discuss how future implementation is informed by the APEASE process and its potential for implementation, intervention effectiveness, evaluation, and the policy process.