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Implementing Implementation Research: Teaching Implementation Research to HIV Researchers

  • Implementation Science (E Geng, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Given the growth in HIV-related implementation research, there is a need to expand the workforce and rigor through implementation science (IS) training and mentorship. Our objective is to review IS training opportunities for HIV-focused researchers and describe the approach and lessons learned from a recent HIV-related implementation research training initiative.

Recent Findings

IS training opportunities range from degree programs to short- and longer-term professional development institutes and community-focused institutional trainings. Until recently, there have not been extensive dedicated opportunities for implementation research training for HIV-focused investigators. To meet this gap, an inter-Center for AIDS Research IS Fellowship for early-stage investigators was launched in 2019, building on lessons learned from dissemination and implementation training programs. Key components of the HIV-focused IS fellowship include didactic training, mentorship, grant-writing, and development of HIV-IS collaborative networks. Fellows to-date were two-thirds junior faculty and one-third post-doctoral fellows, the majority (69%) with prior public health training. Perceived value of the program was high, with a median rating of 9 [IQR 8–9] on a 10-point scale. Overall, 22/27 (81%) Fellows from the first cohort submitted IS-related grants within 12 months of Fellowship completion, and by 1 year 13 grants had been funded among 10 investigators, 37% overall among Fellows. Mentors identified framing of IS questions as the top-ranked training priority for HIV-investigators.

Summary

Increasing knowledge of the utility of IS may support more grants focused on optimal implementation of HIV treatment and prevention strategies. Experiences from mentors and trainees engaged in an IS-focused fellowship for HIV investigators demonstrate the demand and value of a dedicated training program and reinforce the importance of mentorship.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the inter-Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Implementation Science Working Group for their support, alongside the feedback received from the Fellows completing the inter-CFAR Implementation Science Fellowship.

Funding

The inter-CFAR Implementation Science Fellowship was funded through two supplement meeting awards to the Johns Hopkins University Center for AIDS Research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (P30AI094189) (PI, Chaisson; Supplement Project Director, Schwartz). SS and SB are also supported by implementation science and HIV grants which have informed the program (NIH R01-NR016650 and R01-MH121161). PS was supported by NIH grant award P30AI050409; JDS was supported through NIH P30 DA027828 Center for Prevention Implementation Methodology (Ce-PIM) for Drug Abuse and HIV (PI, Brown) and NIH P30 AI117943-S8 Implementation Science Coordination, Consultation, and Collaboration Initiative (ISC3I) Supplement to the Third Coast Center for AIDS Research (PI, D'Aquila; Supplement PI, Mustanski). DN was supported through NIH P30AI124414. ARM and KGS were supported by award P30AI027757 which is supported by the following NIH Institutes and Centers: NIAID, NCI, NIMH, NIDA, NICHD, NHLBI, NIA, NIGMS, NIDDK. SM was supported by a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Modeling and Program Science. VG was supported by NIH grant award P30 AI50410.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Sheree R. Schwartz & Stefan Baral

  2. Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    J. D. Smith

  3. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Christopher Hoffmann & Bhakti Hansoti

  4. St. Michael’s Hospital, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Sharmistha Mishra

  5. Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Arianna Rubin Means & Kenneth Sherr

  6. Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Vivian Go

  7. Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health (ISPH), City University of New York (CUNY), New York City, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York (CUNY), New York City, NY, USA

    Denis Nash

  8. Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Patrick Sullivan

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  1. Sheree R. Schwartz
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  9. Denis Nash
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Contributions

The authorship team jointly planned the review; SS led drafting of the manuscript and the authorship team collaboratively contributed to writing. The authors also jointly designed, delivered and evaluated the fellowship which is included in the review.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sheree R. Schwartz.

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Primary research was not undertaken for this paper. We reviewed the literature and utilized routine evaluation data of the fellowship to inform the readership of lessons learned.

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Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests. Several of the authors have participated in various training programs discussed in this manuscript and those experiences have been used to inform this review.

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Schwartz, S.R., Smith, J.D., Hoffmann, C. et al. Implementing Implementation Research: Teaching Implementation Research to HIV Researchers. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep 18, 186–197 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11904-021-00551-4

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