NIDCD Explores Dissemination, Implementation Research
The field of implementation science, which aims to narrow evidence-to-practice gaps, is gaining traction in health services research, population health sciences and public health.
More than 100 attendees recently gathered to hear expert advice about current best practices in dissemination and implementation (D&I) research during a seminar held virtually and in-person on NIH’s main campus. The seminar was hosted by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).
This NIDCD Director’s Seminar featured a presentation by
Dr. Meghan Lane-Fall, executive director of the Penn Implementation Science Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Lane-Fall, a practicing anesthesiologist and intensive care physician who also is an expert in implementation science, provided an overview of D&I research and described challenges and opportunities in NIDCD’s mission areas: hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech and language.
“The findings that you have in your lab—the innovations that you create—will never change health unless there are people doing implementation,” Lane-Fall said. “We need to start thinking about implementation at the very beginning, not at the end, so that we give ourselves the best chance of getting these innovations into practice. And then, for maximal impact, we have to think about equity…[or] we risk creating more evidence-to-practice gaps.”
NIDCD Director Dr. Debara Tucci then moderated a panel discussion that included Dr. Shannon N. Zenk, director of the National Institute of Nursing Research; Dr. Monica Webb Hooper, deputy director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities; and Dr. Holly Storkel, program officer for NIDCD’s language program.
NIDCD supports D&I research that bridges the gap between scientific discoveries and practical applications in public health and clinical settings. The institute’s support for D&I research is described in its 2023-2027 strategic plan. Further research needs and opportunities are summarized from a recent D&I Science in Communication Disorders workshop, found at go.nih.gov/NWJkLf8.
The NIDCD Director’s Seminar Series: Advancing the Science of Communication to Improve Lives features next-generation research that accelerates advances in NIDCD mission areas.
