Primary Investigator
Andrea A Howard
Associate Professor of Epidemiology (in the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs) at the Columbia University Medical Center
Project Description
Effective translation and uptake of research findings into practice is a major impediment in advancing migrant health in the Middle East, North Africa (MENA) region. Implementation science (IS), or the study of methods to promote adoption and integration of evidence-based practices, interventions and policies into routine health care and public health settings, is posited as a pathway to achieving impact. Thus, building regional capacity to conduct IS research is a critical priority. The overarching goal of the proposed project is to advance the health of migrant populations by training public health professionals in IS research, enabling them to effectively translate evidence-based interventions into policy and practice. Project objectives include: 1) conduct a training institute at the Columbia Global Centers | Amman; 2) design a curriculum featuring experts from ICAP at Columbia University (CU), Mailman School of Public Health and American University of Beirut (AUB); 3) build research partnerships and capacity between participants, CU and AUB to design fundable IS studies; 4) engage students from CU, AUB, and other MENA institutions in the training institute and conduct of mentored research projects; 5) establish opportunities for collaboration between MENA and CU researchers to support and advance research ideas into fundable grant proposals; 6) establish a cadre of public health professionals in MENA that can lead teams and advance implementation science; and 7) create a model training institute that could be offered at multiple Columbia Global Centers. The institute will consist of a five-day, hands-on workshop, in which trainees craft an IS research proposal. A robust evaluation will be conducted to assess participant reaction, learning, behavior and results. Findings from the evaluation will be disseminated to stakeholders at the Amman Center and through a peer-reviewed publication and will inform development of a model implementation science training institute.