Not just for snacks – vending machines as a low-barrier harm reduction access method.

Alice Zhang, MD, MPH
Penn State College of Medicine

ABSTRACT:
Harm reduction-focused vending machines, delivering naloxone, fentanyl test strips, and other public health items, represent a potential non-stigmatizing, low-barrier approach to harm reduction that may increase access and engagement with underserved populations, reduce overdoses and related public health conditions, and health disparities in substance use disorder. Two interactive harm reduction-focused, community health-oriented vending machines have been implemented in central Pennsylvania, with two additional vending machines planned in 2026. This presentation will discuss barriers and facilitators to harm reduction vending machine implementation, as well as preliminary data on their acceptability, reach, utilization, and impact.

Co-Creating Change: The Power of Academic-Community Partnerships for Health Equity

Funlola Are, PhD
McGovern Medical School

ABSTRACT:
Health inequities in child mental health persist despite the growing body of evidence for effective interventions. Academic‐community partnerships offer a promising path forward, integrating evidence-based approaches with community expertise to improve access, implementation, and sustainability of mental health programs. In this presentation, we explore how collaborative models, grounded in implementation science, can enhance the reach and fidelity of evidence-based interventions for children, particularly in underserved populations. We will discuss the foundational principles of successful academic-community partnerships and how they can contribute to health equity to broaden access to evidence-based child mental health interventions, including adaptations for diverse community settings.

Learning Objectives

1)    Describe the essential elements of effective academic-community partnerships

2)    Identify approaches for adapting and disseminating evidence-based interventions in community settings to improve child mental health outcomes.

3)    Illustrate how implementation science methods can guide the co-creation, scaling, and sustainability of interventions in diverse community contexts.

“Beyond the False Dichotomy” Bridging the MOUD-Mutual Help Group Divide

Wayne Kepner, PhD, MPH
Stanford University

ABSTRACT:
A significant barrier to addressing the opioid crisis is the "false dichotomy" between two of our most effective strategies; medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and 12-step mutual help groups (MHG). MOUD is the most effective pharmacological treatment to reduce mortality, while MHGs provide invaluable access to peer-based recovery capital. A fragmented system of care exists despite evidence that combining these approaches yields superior outcomes. Facilities offering recovery support services are nearly eight times more likely to exclude MOUD patients, forcing individuals to navigate seemingly incompatible systems where they may be discouraged from MOUD use, increasing risks of treatment discontinuation and overdose.

To contextualize this research, the presentation will briefly trace the history of mutual help groups and the evolution of the current MOUD-MHG divide. The talk will synthesize findings demonstrating strong preliminary, but ultimately incomplete, evidence that combining MOUD and MHG participation is associated with better treatment outcomes. It will highlight data showing MHG attendance is a strong predictor of treatment completion for MOUD patients and explore the mechanisms, such as adaptive social network changes, that may drive these synergistic effects. This presentation will also introduce a K01 research proposal designed to address this systemic failure by generating national and clinic-level evidence to inform a collaborative and community-co-designed strategy. The ultimate goal is to develop and test clinic-level strategies that improve MOUD retention and ensure patients can access the full continuum of care, thereby promoting long-term recovery and reducing opioid mortality.

How to work your data project into a health care system: an HD2A story

Niranjan S. Karnik, MD, PhD
University of Illinois Chicago

ABSTRACT:
Translating data science innovations into real-world clinical impact remains a critical challenge in healthcare. This talk presents the story of C-DOSETaP (Chicago Data-Driven OUD Screening, Engagement, Treatment and Prevention) project, a NIDA-funded initiative under the Helping to End Addiction Long-term Data to Action (HD2A) program. Designed to integrate substance use screening and care pathways into electronic health record (EHR) systems, C-DOSETaP is a health system-wide project aiming to enhance clinician decision-making and streamline referrals to addiction treatment in diverse healthcare settings. We will explore the strategic, technical, and cultural considerations required to embed data-driven tools into large healthcare systems, focusing on lessons learned in stakeholder engagement, workflow integration, and sustainability planning. Attendees will gain insight into how collaborative partnerships between clinicians, informatics teams, and implementation scientists can drive the successful adoption of data innovations at the point of care.

Adventures in Hybrid Implementation-Effectiveness trials: Integrating smoking cessation treatment into healthcare settings

Sandra Japuntich, PhD
University of Minnesota Medical School

ABSTRACT:
Hybrid implementation-effectiveness trials hold tremendous promise to speed implementation by collecting data necessary for implementation whilst conducting effectiveness data.  This presentation will review hybrid clinical trial design and present outcomes from two hybrid implementation-effectiveness trials of smoking cessation treatments.  Insights and experiences will be shared about the importance of collecting implementation data for treatments that are effective to aid in implementation as well as when treatments are not effective to help explain unexpected results.

Pragmatic and Innovative Approaches to Evaluating Implementation Costs

Hannah Cheng, MS
Stanford University

Todd Wagner, PhD
Stanford University

ABSTRACT:
This presentation highlights practical and innovative approaches to economic evaluations in implementation endeavors. Part I provides an overview of Delivering Implementation Strategies Cost (DISCo), a pragmatic micro-costing tool that separates delivery and participation costs while outlining practical considerations for measuring implementation costs. Part II discusses economic evaluation approaches beyond traditional cost-effectiveness analysis, focusing on underused or novel approaches, such as data envelopment analysis, stochastic frontier analysis, budget impact analysis, and value-focused methods. The presentation equips researchers with a versatile economic toolkit to understand the value of implementation.

Implementing Collaborative Care at Scale: Insights from a Hybrid Trial and Rapid Expansion

Allison Carroll, PhD
Northwestern University

Meredith Boyd, PhD
Northwestern University

Emily Fu, PhD, MPH
University of Chicago

ABSTRACT:
The Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) is an evidence-based intervention to treat mild to moderate mental health conditions in primary care settings. Although the effectiveness of CoCM has been extensively researched, less is known about the strategies needed to successfully implement and sustain CoCM, particularly under pragmatic conditions. In this presentation, we will share findings from multiple phases of CoCM implementation. First, we conducted a randomized roll-out implementation optimization type 2 hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial of CoCM among 11 clinics within one region of the health system. Second, we will describe how learnings from this phase informed health system-wide implementation of CoCM across 74 clinics. Finally, we will describe novel, rapid approaches that are currently being piloted to increase the adoption and reach of CoCM.

AI-Enhanced Text Messaging for Behavioral Health: Designing the Next Generation of Digital Interventions

Rachel Kornfield, PhD
Northwestern University

ABSTRACT:
Text messaging is a uniquely accessible way to deliver digital health interventions, offering high levels of reach and usability relative to most apps. When paired with cutting-edge machine learning techniques, text messaging can also be adaptive and highly personalized. In this talk, Dr. Kornfield will describe how her team is leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence within Small Steps SMS, an automated text messaging program that supports self-management of depression and anxiety. She will highlight how the program uses reinforcement learning, a form of machine learning that enables systems to optimize decisions over time, allowing daily messages to adapt content based on user engagement patterns, mood, and availability. She will also discuss her ongoing work assessing how generative AI can be incorporated into a rule-based text messaging system to expand and customize content while maintaining safety and fidelity. Finally, she will discuss key lessons from implementing these tools in real-world settings, including how a partnership with Mental Health America has informed adaptations to Small Steps SMS. This includes co-developing content for underserved populations (e.g., adolescents, racial/ethnic minorities) and designing workflows that align with the operational needs of community-based organizations.

Evaluating the Reliability of Measures of Organizational Characteristics: Issues and Recommendations

Alex Sox-Harris, PhD
Stanford University

Kenneth Nieser, PhD
Stanford University

ABSTRACT:
Measures of organizational characteristics, such as implementation climate, organizational climate, and organizational culture play diverse roles in implementation studies. These characteristics can be conceptualized as contextual determinants of quality, moderators or mediators of implementation strategy effectiveness, or even implementation outcomes. It is therefore essential that the reliability of these measures be evaluated before use. Reliability is a broad term that refers to several distinct aspects of psychometric soundness. In this presentation, we focus on the aspects of reliability that refer to a measure’s ability to precisely characterize and differentiate between organizations. Are measured differences between organizations trustworthy? Do the measured differences reflect true differences or measurement error? More quantitatively, organization-level reliability refers to the proportion of variance that is between, rather than within, organizations. Using measures with unknown or low reliability risks making incorrect judgements about organizational characteristics and their relationships to other implementation science constructs. In this presentation, we highlight how the multilevel nature of data on organizational characteristics complicates evaluation of measure reliability. We also make recommendations regarding which methods should and should not be used to calculate the reliability of these measures.

Foundations for improving perinatal mental health care through a statewide birthing hospital quality improvement collaborative

Patricia Lee King, PhD, MSW
Northwestern University

ABSTRACT:
Mental health conditions, including substance use disorders, are a leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths. One in five mothers experience depression or anxiety during pregnancy or postpartum and less than 10% receive adequate treatment. The Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative (ILPQC) facilitates collaborative learning opportunities, rapid-response data and quality improvement support to birthing hospitals through a collaborative infrastructure. In May 2025, the Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative (ILPQC) launched the Perinatal Mental Health Initiative with over 70 birthing hospitals. This initiative builds on previous statewide initiatives addressing Mothers and Newborns affected by Opioids (2018-2020) and Birth Equity (2021-2024) which demonstrated improvement in perinatal quality and patient outcomes. The aim of the ILPQC Perinatal Mental Health Initiative is to increase the percent of pregnant women with current perinatal mental health conditions who receive treatment and connection to resources during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum.

How implementation science can be used to support change efforts

Julia Moore, PhD
The Center for Implementation

ABSTRACT:
This workshop introduces the principles of implementation science and explores how they can help to plan, execute, and sustain change initiatives. Participants will learn practical approaches to bridge the gap between research and practice, overcome common barriers to change, and apply evidence-informed approaches to change initiatives.

Methods for Rescuing Implementation Trials that Have Gone Off the Rails

Geoffrey Curran, PhD
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

JD Smith, PhD
University of Utah

Alison Hamilton, PhD
UCLA

ABSTRACT:
Implementation trials frequently run into unanticipated challenges which, if not successfully addressed, can threaten their integrity and derail implementation quality and speed. These problems, and potential solutions, remain largely tacit. In this panel, 4 principal investigators describe how their extramurally-funded implementation trials encountered potentially study-ending problems:  Shifting context barriers (e.g., staffing, local policy, partner priorities) resulting in problems with site recruitment, retention, and/or engagement; missing data; mis-specified implementation strategies; and failed strategies (to name some). Methods to address these problems included rapid formative evaluation, external advisory assistance, partnered study component/protocol revision, and early funder communication.

Maintaining Efficacy while Adapting Contingency Management: State and Tribal partnerships as examples

Sara Parent, ND
Washington State University

K. Michelle Peavy, PhD
Washington State University

Kait Hirchak, PhD
Washington State University

ABSTRACT:
Contingency Management (CM) is an evidence-based behavioral intervention for substance use disorders that is receiving increasing attention as the most effective treatment available for stimulant use disorder. Decades of research have established its efficacy, and more recent Dissemination and Implementation Science suggest effective ways to facilitate its uptake. Each time a CM program is launched in a real-world setting, decisions must be made to address implementation goals and constraints. Our team works closely with state funders, Tribal partners, and other clinical and non-clinical sites implementing CM to navigate these adaptations, balancing fidelity with practical needs. We will present our experiences with state- and Tribe-partnered CM programs to illustrate how collaborations among funders, training and technical assistance team/subject matter experts, and CM sites/practitioners can help strike this balance. Our focus will be on how these partnerships support site-specific adaptations while maintaining evidence-based protocol integrity, ultimately centering positive outcomes for the individuals and communities served.

From glitter to gold: Recommendations for effective dashboards from design through sustainment

Fernanda Sequeira Rossi, PhD
Stanford University

ABSTRACT:
Dashboards—tools that compile and summarize key performance data—have become increasingly utilized for supporting data organization and decision-making processes across various fields, such as business, economics, healthcare, and policy. The dashboard’s impact is dependent on its use by the individuals for whom it was designed. Yet, few studies measure dashboard use, and of those that do, their utility is limited. When dashboards go unused, they provide little value and impact. This presentation discusses the common pitfalls of dashboards that result in their limited use and how human-centered design and implementation science can improve dashboard relevance. It provides eight recommendations for effective dashboards from across the design to the sustainment phase.

Understanding and Applying the HIV Self-Test Program Preferences of Black and Latino Sexual and Gender Minorities in the Southern United States: An Online Discrete Choice Experiment with Patients and CFIR Interviews with Providers

John Guigayoma, PhD
Northwestern University

ABSTRACT:
Black and Latino sexual and gender minorities in the Southern United States have experienced the greatest burden of HIV for the past 25 years. HIV self-testing is an effective strategy to identify individuals living with undiagnosed HIV, but little implementation research is known about which program characteristics foster the highest patient engagement. Discrete choice experiments are a survey tool that can answer this question by providing insight on the most important program components to patients. This presentation will report on the design and results of an online discrete choice experiment with Black and Latino sexual and gender minorities living in the South to optimize the design of HIV self-test programs. Results will include preference estimates and marginal willingness to pay. This presentation will then report on the application of these results to a qualitative study examining barriers and facilitators to implementing a low-price HIV self-test home-delivery program from the perspectives of HIV prevention program decisionmakers in the South using the updated Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. This presentation will include considerations in study design, data collection, and analysis for those who may use discrete choice experiments in their own research.

Addressing Underlying Trauma in Opioid Use

Tanya Saraiya, PhD
Medical University of South Carolina

ABSTRACT:
Up to 90% of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) have trauma exposure and up to 41% have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, studies estimate that less than 12% of people with OUD and co-occurring PTSD receive treatment for their PTSD. Dr. Saraiya will present her early career work on assessing and addressing underlying trauma among people struggling with opioid use. Specifically, she will share findings from a new integrated therapy for opioid use disorder and PTSD and the development of a digital toolkit to assess for intimate partner violence in three opioid treatment programs in South Carolina. Throughout this talk, other projects and associated reflections on how systemic racism and healthcare barriers influence trauma and opioid use treatment will be discussed.

TITLE: TBD

Corey Bradley, PhD, MSW, MPH
Northwestern University

ABSTRACT:
TBD

Low Threshold Buprenorphine: What do we know and where do we go from here?

Andrea Jakubowski, MD, MS
Montefoire

ABSTRACT:
Over two decades into the opioid overdose crisis, buprenorphine remains underutilized and inaccessible to many people with opioid use disorder. Improving accessibility and utilization requires attention to where treatment is offered and how patients are treated once they enter care. In this presentation, Dr. Jakubowski will describe: 1) principles of low-threshold buprenorphine; 2) clinical and implementation data on syringes services program (SSP)-based buprenorphine programs; 3) early findings from Dr. Jakubowski’s NIDA K23 examining implementation of long-acting injectable buprenorphine in SSP and primary care clinics; 4) description and rationale of CTN-0155: Low-Threshold Buprenorphine Treatment at Syringe Services Programs: A Type I Hybrid Effectiveness-implementation Trial.

Designing for Dissemination: Building and Testing a Mobile App to Reduce Cannabis Use Among Justice-Involved Youth

Sarah Helseth, PhD
Northwestern University

ABSTRACT:
Dr. Helseth's program of research seeks to increase equitable access to and utilization of effective interventions and health services, particularly among underserved populations and high-risk youth. She pursues this objective via several complementary lines of research that span from treatment development and evaluation to widespread dissemination and community-based implementation. Broadly, her work includes: 1) developing and evaluating behavioral health interventions, 2) using patient-directed dissemination strategies to increase demand for effective health services, 3) using provider-directed implementation strategies to increase the availability of effective health services, and 4) leveraging technology to deliver interventions to underserved populations. Her presentation will center on activities conducted during her 5-year, NIDA-funded Early Career Award (K23DA048062; PI: Helseth) to develop and evaluate the TECH app, a novel digital health adjunct designed to help court-involved, non-incarcerated adolescents reduce their use of cannabis.

A Mobile Approach to Empower Perinatal Women with Opioid Use Disorder and Enhance Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Care

Ekaterina Burduli, PhD, MS
Washington State University

ABSTRACT:
Substance use during pregnancy and parenthood presents significant public health challenges, with potentially severe consequences for mothers and infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). Addressing this issue requires innovative, comprehensive interventions and patient-centered approaches to improve care for perinatal women and families impacted by substance use disorders (SUD). This presentation will describe a NIDA-funded K01 study that focuses on developing and assessing the usability, acceptability, and feasibility of a mobile educational tool designed to support pregnant women with OUD in navigating the perinatal period and infant NAS care. Qualitative data that guided the tool's development will be presented, alongside findings from user testing and a pilot randomized trial.

Longitudinal Pathways of Depression and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among LGBTQ Youth of Color: An Integrative Data Analysis

Alberto Valido, PhD
University of Missouri

ABSTRACT:
Recent data from the Trevor Project reveals alarming disparities in mental health outcomes among LGBTQ youth of color, with significantly higher rates of depression and suicide risk compared to their White LGBTQ peers. Despite these documented disparities, there has been limited longitudinal research examining how these outcomes develop throughout adolescence among Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx LGBTQ youth. This presentation will provide an overview of an innovative integrative data analysis combining 19 longitudinal studies to examine developmental trajectories of depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among LGBTQ youth of color. We will discuss the theoretical frameworks guiding this research, including intersectionality and minority stress theory, and will present findings on distinct developmental patterns identified through longitudinal statistical techniques. The presentation will highlight critical periods of elevated risk during adolescence, demographic differences in risk trajectories, and specific depression symptoms that strongly predict high-risk suicide outcomes. We will conclude by discussing implications for early intervention and culturally responsive prevention strategies to address these health disparities. The methodological approaches demonstrated in this research offer new pathways for understanding complex mental health outcomes in underrepresented populations and developing more effective interventions.

What works, for whom, and when: Coincidence analysis for implementation science

Theresa Matson, PhD, MPH
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute

ABSTRACT:
Understanding why some interventions succeed while others fail is crucial for implementing evidence-based practices in real-world settings. Implementation efforts are complex, involving many factors, including the intervention itself, the strategies used to put it into practice, and the unique characteristics of each setting. Traditional research methods provide valuable insights, but they may not fully capture how different factors come together to influence success. This presentation provides an overview of Coincidence Analysis (CNA), a mathematical, case-based method that can uncover multiple pathways to success by modeling combinations of factor values that are minimally necessary and sufficient for an outcome. CNA can be applied as a standalone method or in conjunction with other approaches; we will discuss the types of questions that CNA is well-suited to answer. Finally, in an applied example, this presentation will share novel findings from secondary analysis of an implementation trial that used CNA to identify “difference-makers” that consistently and uniquely distinguished clinics that increased opioid use disorder treatment from those that did not. 

Contingency Management: Implementation of a Highly Effective Intervention for the Treatment of Stimulant Use Disorder

Beth Rutkowski, MPH
University of California, Los Angeles

Thomas Freese, PhD
University of California, Los Angeles

ABSTRACT:
Recent evidence indicates that methamphetamine and cocaine play a substantial and increasing role in the illicit drug crisis in the US—the 4th wave of the overdose crisis. The behavioral treatment known as contingency management (CM) has more than three decades of robust research supporting its efficacy for individuals with stimulant use disorder (StimUD). Despite overwhelming evidence supporting CM, it has not been widely used in routine treatment outside the VA healthcare system. This situation is changing as states are arranging funding for CM and developing CM programming for individuals with StimUD.

This presentation will begin with a brief overview of how cocaine and methamphetamine use are contributing to the current overdose crisis. Presenters will review CM protocol elements, evidence for CM, current obstacles to widespread implementation of CM, and strategies for addressing barriers. Present implementation strategies and preliminary results form the Recovery Incentive Program: California’s Contingency Management Benefit. This is the first program to implement CM using Medicaid funding through an 1115 Waiver. The Recovery Incentives Program is being systematically implemented using the Science to Service Lab (SSL) implementation approach which features three core components: didactic training, performance feedback, and external facilitation, augmented with a readiness assessment process for sites and an ongoing fidelity monitoring and feedback component. Strategies to track results of urine drug screens, calculate incentive amounts, and deliver incentives to the participants will be discussed. The presentation will describe implementation processes and will present preliminary results after 18 months of operation, demonstrating both the feasibility, replicability, and effectiveness of a large-scale rollout of this treatment.

Enhancing Data Driven Approaches to Recovery Monitoring via Measurement Based Care Co-Design and Implementation

Kelli Scott, PhD
Northwestern University

ABSTRACT:
Measurement-based care (MBC) involves the systematic evaluation of client treatment progress and the use of progress data to inform treatment planning. Although MBC is an evidence-based practice that has been widely studied in behavioral health settings, there is a dearth of research exploring its potential to monitor recovery progress for individuals receiving treatment for opioid use disorder. Key gaps in the literature include: 1) the lack of measurement tools aligned with treatment provider and patient needs; 2) limited study of needed MBC adaptations to support integration into opioid treatment; and 3) the need for greater evidence supporting the effectiveness and implementation of MBC in the opioid treatment program setting. This webinar will highlight findings from two ongoing studies, the Measurement Based Care to Opioid Treatment Programs Project (MBC2OTP) and the HEALing Measurement Center, which aim to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of MBC in Chicagoland and Pennsylvania opioid treatment programs, respectively. This webinar has three key aims: 1) to orient participants to the potential impact of MBC on substance use treatment outcomes; 2) to highlight community-partnered co-design processes that can support MBC implementation in opioid treatment programs; and 3) to present preliminary data on needed MBC measure and protocol adaptations, as well as implementation strategies to support scale up.

The Longitudinal Implementation Strategy Tracking System (LISTS): Lessons learned from applying the method and new online tool

JD Smith, PhD
University of Utah

James Merle, PhD
University of Utah

ABSTRACT:
Documenting and tracking the dynamic changes to implementation strategies over time is crucial for advancing implementation science. Several methods for tracking strategies have been proposed recently, underscoring the importance of continued development of methods to accurately assess and monitor which strategies are used, and how and why they change over time. Continued methodologic work is needed to test and optimize a methodology and a data capture interface that balances rigor, feasibility, and usability. The novel Longitudinal Implementation Strategy Tracking System (LISTS) method was developed to address the limitations of the existing methods to advance the science of strategy tracking toward greater transparency and use of common data elements. Drs. Smith and Merle will provide an overview of the LISTS method and its use and lessons learned from use of the method in several implementation trials, followed by a demonstration of a freely-accessible online tool.

Lessons learned in the Development of De-Implementation Strategies to Address Mammography Overscreening among Older Women: Findings from an Innovation Tournament and Discrete Choice Experiment

Rachel Shelton, ScD, MPH
Columbia University

Nathalie Moise, MD, MS
Columbia University

ABSTRACT:
There is a need and opportunity to advance the science of de-implementation. Mammography screening among women 75 and older presents a robust area for inquiry related to de-implementation, as routine screening can lead to potential harms (e.g., overdiagnosis, overtreatment) while health benefits remain uncertain. Guided by de-implementation frameworks and methodological approaches from the field of implementation science, this presentation will discuss lessons learned and key findings from an online innovation tournament and discrete choice experiment to identify, select, and tailor de-implementation strategies at the patient, provider, and system levels for reducing mammography overuse in older women.

Methadone Patient Access to Collaborative Treatment (MPACT)

Beth Meyerson, MDiv, PhD
University of Arizona

ABSTRACT:
Methadone Patient Access to Collaborative Treatment (MPACT) is an experimental, multimodal intervention for methadone clinic staff and funded by NIDA. This presentation will provide a brief overview of MPACT, discuss the planned hybrid trial (late fall 2025), the village that collaboratively developed MPACT and the importance of fidelity tracking for intervention precision.

The Buprenorphine Prescribing Support Program for Rural Primary Care

Berkeley Franz, PhD
Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine

ABSTRACT:
Buprenorphine is a critical tool to prevent overdose and infectious disease transmission in people with opioid use disorder, but it is difficult to access in rural areas. A promising solution is to engage rural primary care professionals. But the willingness of primary care professionals to prescribe this medication presents a vexing implementation science challenge—fewer than 8% of PCPs have ever prescribed buprenorphine. Stigma is a well-accepted prescribing barrier, but few implementation studies have focused on measuring and addressing the different types of stigma that matter for implementation. To address these barriers, we developed, iterated, refined, and pilot tested a brief, online stigma-reduction intervention that pairs clinical training on buprenorphine with exposure to 1) other rural PCPs who prescribe buprenorphine and 2) patients who received buprenorphine and are in sustained recovery. The Buprenorphine Prescribing Support Program (BPSP) is paired with a booster module and long-term prescribing mentorship. In this presentation, we will present the data that informed the development of the Buprenorphine Prescribing Support Program and results from a pilot clinical trial. Our long-term goal is a brief, effective stigma-reduction program that can be easily scaled to encourage widespread, appropriate buprenorphine use in rural primary care.

Establishing evidence criteria to identify and disseminate best practice implementation strategies in HIV

Ginger McKay, PhD
Washington University in St. Louis

ABSTRACT:
Given the progress of implementation research to address the HIV epidemic in the US, criteria specifically for evaluating the quality of implementation research and strategy effectiveness are needed to recommend strategies likely to have impact for practitioners. We will describe the development and application of the Best Practices Tool, a set of criteria to evaluate the evidence supporting HIV-specific implementation strategies. Our approach involved in three steps: key informant interviews to develop an initial set of criteria, a Delphi to refine the tool, and then piloting with existing published research to finalize our tool. We now are currently working to identify and disseminate strategies that meet the highest criteria levels for improving the uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV and HIV testing with plans to address subsequent aspects of the HIV care continuum.

Revisiting Concepts of Evidence in Implementation Science

Ross Brownson, PhD
Washington University in St. Louis

ABSTRACT:
Evidence, in multiple forms, is a foundation of implementation research. For public health and clinical practice, evidence includes: Type 1 evidence on etiology and burden; Type 2 evidence on effectiveness of interventions; and Type 3: evidence on dissemination and implementation within context. Because current concepts of evidence have been relatively narrow and insufficient, this presentation will identify and discuss challenges and debates about the uses, usefulness, and gaps in evidence for implementation research. Intersecting gaps include the need to: (1) reconsider how the evidence base is determined, (2) improve understanding of contextual effects on implementation, (3) sharpen the focus on health equity in how we approach and build the evidence-base, and (4) learn from audience and stakeholder differences. Recommendations for enhancing the uses and usefulness of evidence will be presented.