Abstract
Despite the increasing popularity of translation research, few studies have described the process and challenges involved in implementing a translation study. The main objective was to determine whether a multi-component group behavioral intervention could be successfully translated from an academic setting into the community health system of federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in Miami, NY, and NJ. Key challenges and “lessons learned” from the dissemination and implementation process for the SMART/EST (Stress Management And Relaxation Training/Emotional Supportive Therapy) Women’s Project (SWP) III in low-resource primary care settings are described. The Reach Effectiveness Adoption Implementation Maintenance (RE-AIM) model served as the theoretical framework for the translation of the study. This study outlines several essential factors related to Glasgow’s RE-AIM model that need to be considered in order to accomplish successful translation of evidence-based interventions from traditional academia to “real-world” community health center settings.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge support for this study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (R18PS000829). We also acknowledge the Miami health centers that participated in the translation: Jackson Memorial Hospital Special Immunology Clinic and Borinquen Healthcare Center as well as the participating CDN health centers: Bedford-Stuyvesant Family Health Center, Morris Heights Health Center, and Metropolitan Family Health Center/Jersey City Family Health Center. We also acknowledge the SMARTEST Women’s Team: UMMSM staff: Olga Villar-Loubet, PsyD, Eliot Lopez, PhD, Laura Bruscantini, MS, and Szonja Vamos; UMMSM CHC facilitators: Oscar Galeon, Madeline Clemente, Phonia Theoc, Sheila Findlay, Samantha Ross, and Joel Jean Baptiste; CDN staff: Marleny Diaz-Gloster, MPH, Jafar Abbas, Rosario Hinojosa, Fidel Martinez, Jessica Pesantez, PsyD, and Barbara Warren, PsyD; and CDN CHC facilitators: Enid Knight, Ellen Cates, Eileen Scarinici, Tonya Williams, Elisha Cherry, William Mendez, Patricia Ospina, and Jennifer Collazo.
Ethics statement
All SWP study procedures were followed in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. All participants provided written informed consent prior to enrollment.
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The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
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Implications
Practice: Successful translation requires “buy-in” from community health centers, a perceptual shift by the research team, a sustainable training model, and the development of a long-term reimbursement model for the services provided.
Policy: Support in the form of government funding for community health center training can maximize the success, impact, and scope of translation research in health-care settings.
Research: Successful translation of behavioral research requires transfer of “ownership” from the research team to the community health centers or targeted providers.
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Lopez-Patton, M.R., Weiss, S.M., Tobin, J.N. et al. Translating evidence-based interventions from research to practice: challenges and lessons learned. Behav. Med. Pract. Policy Res. 5, 233–241 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-015-0307-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-015-0307-2