Leveraging regulatory flexibility for methadone take-home dosing to improve retention in treatment for opioid use disorder: A stepped-wedge randomized trial to facilitate clinic level changes.

Charles Neighbors, MBA, PhD
NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Megan O’Grady, PhD
University of Connecticut

Ashly Jordan, PhD, MPH
New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports

Yubua Bao, PhD
Weill Cornell Medicine

ABSTRACT:
Methadone is a highly effective medication for treating opioid use disorders (OUD) that is provided in opioid treatment programs (OTPs). Recent federal regulatory changes have relaxed criteria for take-home dosing of methadone, offering an opportunity to improve the OUD care experience for patients. Implementing more flexible take-home dosing policies and practices in OTPs may help improve treatment access and outcomes. However, implementation of more flexible take-home dosing in response to federal policy changes has been uneven in OTPs. This stems from multi-level barriers, such as staff concerns for patient safety, financial concerns due to changes (or lack thereof) in payment models, and rigid organizational policies and practices. This presentation will describe a multi-component intervention designed as part of an academic-government partnership to address implementation barriers at multiple levels. We will specifically highlight successes and challenges in using data-based feedback and a financial tool to support OTP implementation of more flexible methadone take-home dosing practices.

How to Make Scientific Inferences and Conduct Power Analyses for Randomized Implementation Rollout Trials

C. Hendricks Brown, PhD
Northwestern University

Ian Cero, PhD
University of Rochester Medical Center

ABSTRACT:
This two-part presentation continues the virtual presentations on Randomized Implementation Rollout Designs and Trials, which include Stepped Wedge Implementation Designs.  These designs are commonly used to examine how well an evidence-based intervention or package is being implemented in community or healthcare settings.  The multitude of implementation research questions and specific hypotheses suggest the need for diverse randomized rollout implementation trial designs, assignment principles and procedures, and statistical modeling.  In the first part we discuss key research questions and identify mixed effect models for randomized implementation rollout trials involving 1) a single implementation strategy that tests how this strategy varies over time and/or resources that are allocated, 2) comparison of two distinct implementation strategies, and 3) three distinct strategies or components tested in a single trial. 

In the second part of the presentation we present the use of Rollout, a general statistical package written in R that can be used to conduct detailed statistical power and sample size analyses for diverse rollout designs.  Users specify both the underlying generative data model as well as the analytic model and output includes power and bias in the parameters.  We discuss how the package can account for misspecified modeling and robustness.  Only limited knowledge of R is necessary to use this package, and we provide examples for planning new implementation trials and examining the effects on power when modifications of a design during the conduct of a trial are necessary.

Rollout designs in implementation research:  Often necessary and sometimes preferred.

C. Hendricks Brown, PhD
Northwestern University

Gregory Simon, MD, MPH
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute

ABSTRACT:
Background: Rollout designs, which include stepped wedge designs, are defined by staggered implementation of new or alternative programs or services. Critiques of stepped wedge and other rollout designs have raised concerns regarding the confounding of true implementation or program effects with unrelated, global changes in service delivery, with some recommending they only be used when traditional parallel-group designs are not practicable. However, rollout designs may sometimes be more suitable than traditional parallel group designs for ethical, scientific, or practical reasons.

Results: We define and provide rationale for and examples of stepped wedge and the larger class of rollout designs, in which all participating units receive a new program or service implementation. Staged implementation in a rollout design may be necessary when denying, rather than delaying, implementation of a known effective service is ethically unacceptable. Scientifically, stepped wedge has increased statistical power relative to an equivalent parallel group design, and some rollout designs have the capability to compare different phases of implementation and sustainment. A rollout design may be practically necessary either because of limited resources and other logistical challenges or community requirements that no site serve as a control. Examples of completed and ongoing rollout trials illustrate how these ethical, scientific, and practical considerations influenced trial designs.

Conclusions: Stepped wedge and other rollout trial designs may be well suited to evaluation of implementation strategies or policy changes. In implementation trials, rollout designs may be necessary for practical reasons, may be required for ethical reasons, and may be preferred for scientific reasons. We summarize when such rollout designs have advantages and drawbacks.

Campus Connections: Barriers and Facilitators of Implementing Mutual-Help Groups in Collegiate Recovery Programs Using the CFIR

Noel Vest, PhD
Boston University

ABSTRACT:
Mutual-help groups (MHGs) are an evidence-based recovery support for young adults, yet college campuses remain an overlooked setting for these interventions. Collegiate Recovery Programs (CRPs) have the structure and reach to make MHGs accessible to students navigating both academic and recovery challenges, but little is known about how to effectively implement them in higher education contexts.

This presentation draws on qualitative findings from interviews with 18 CRP directors and campus administrators across five U.S. universities. Guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR 2.0), we explored multilevel barriers and facilitators influencing MHG adoption within CRPs.

Participants highlighted strong confidence in MHG effectiveness, administrative leadership, donor engagement, and recovery-centered spaces as key facilitators. Challenges included limited inclusivity of traditional 12-Step models, misalignment with university development priorities, and unstable funding streams.

Practical recommendations will be shared to enhance the accessibility, sustainability, and inclusivity of mutual-help programming on college campuses—offering implementation strategies that strengthen recovery ecosystems in higher education.  

Embedded Emergency Department Physical Therapy: Groundwork for a Future Multi-Site Effectiveness-Implementation Trial.

Howard Kim, MD, MS
Northwestern University

ABSTRACT:
Low back pain is a common reason for patients to visit the emergency department (ED) yet our current care model is suboptimal. Patients continue to experience pain and disability following an ED visit for back pain and clinicians frequently utilize low value care. Physical therapy can be an effective non-pharmacologic intervention for low back pain but is typically offered only by appointment in dedicated clinics. This presentation will describe our foundational work building an embedded ED physical therapy care model for low back pain, share results from a recent single-site randomized trial, and discuss our plans for a future multi-site trial on the application of this care model to other clinical conditions such as dizziness/vertigo. 

Five Years of the Implementation Research Logic Model (IRLM): Use, Usability, and Opportunities for Refinement

Justin Smith, PhD
University of Utah

James Merle, PhD
University of Utah

Olutobi Sanuade, PhD
University of Utah

Elizabeth Sloss, PhD, MBA, RN
University of Utah

ABSTRACT:
Background:
Clear specification of implementation determinants, strategies, mechanisms, and outcomes is essential for rigor, reproducibility, and causal inference in implementation science. The Implementation Research Logic Model (IRLM) was developed to integrate these elements into a single, coherent framework to support planning, execution, reporting, and synthesis of implementation studies. Since its publication in 2020, the IRLM has been widely disseminated and adopted; however, systematic evidence on how it is used in practice, where users encounter challenges, and how the model and guidance for its use might be refined has been limited.

Methods:
We conducted a multi-phase evaluation of the IRLM five years post-publication. First, we completed a citation analysis and systematic scoping review to assess the IRLM’s scientific reach, patterns of use across implementation phases, construct linking, data sources, and community or partner engagement in published studies. Second, informed by these findings, we conducted a sequential explanatory mixed-methods study, including a cross-sectional survey of IRLM users (n=129) and semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of users (n=22). Survey measures included patterns of use, perceived benefits and challenges, and the System Usability Scale (SUS), while interviews explored experiences applying the IRLM across contexts, levels of experience, and implementation phases. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated to identify convergent and explanatory themes. Finally, findings are being used to inform an expert panel–guided refinement of IRLM materials as well as new materials to promote its use.

Results:
The citation analysis and systematic scoping review demonstrated broad uptake of the IRLM across disciplines and settings, but predominantly for planning, with limited use for execution, reporting, or synthesis and infrequent comprehensive linking across core elements. Survey and interview findings echoed these use patterns, and indicated that users perceived the IRLM as highly valuable for conceptual clarity, planning, and communication, but reported moderate overall usability. Key challenges included procedural ambiguity, difficulty operationalizing mechanisms and linkages, visual complexity in larger projects, and limited guidance for engaging non-research partners. These challenges were most pronounced among newer users and those with fewer prior IRLM applications.

Conclusions:
Together, these findings highlight both the value of the IRLM and clear opportunities for refinement. Ongoing work with an expert panel will translate these results into updated IRLM materials, including a user guide, refined worksheets, and a reporting checklist, to strengthen usability, support partner-engaged application, and enhance the IRLM’s impact across diverse implementation research and practice contexts.

He Pikinga Waiora: A culturally centered Indigenous implementation science framework.

Damian Chase-Begay, PhD, MS
University of Montana

ABSTRACT:
The He Pikinga Waiora (HPW) Framework offers a culturally-centered, community-engaged implementation model developed in Indigenous contexts to guide health promotion and chronic disease prevention efforts. First, this presentation will provide a concise overview of the framework’s origin, key principles (including cultural-centeredness, community engagement, systems thinking, and integrated knowledge translation) and its empirical foundation.

Second, the presentation will highlight a case study in which the HPW framework was applied in partnership with Indigenous community stakeholders—illustrating what the co-design process looked like, what challenges were encountered (such as partner drop-out, adapting intervention content, and sustaining engagement), and what successes were achieved (including significant weight loss and improved self-rated health in one cohort).

Finally, the presentation will describe current work underway to adapt and extend the HPW framework for American Indian communities in the U.S., focusing on culturally-rooted adaptations, stakeholder-driven modifications, and next-phase implementation and evaluation plans. The aim is to spark discussion among clinical and public health practitioners about how frameworks like HPW can be translated across Indigenous populations while preserving community leadership, cultural relevance, and implementation rigor.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the core components and evidence base of the HPW framework.

2. Recognize critical implementation successes and pitfalls when applying the framework in Indigenous settings.

3. Explore pathways and considerations for adapting the HPW framework for American Indian community contexts—including partnership dynamics, cultural adaptation requirements, and evaluation strategies.

The mechanisms of change of a multifaceted implementation strategy on fidelity to a guideline for the prevention of mental health problems at the workplace.

Lydia Kwak, PhD
Karolinska Institute

Andreas Rödlund, PhD
Karolinska Institute

ABSTRACT:
A key priority in implementation science is to understand the mechanisms of implementation strategies, describing how and why they function. Yet, the knowledge about mechanisms of implementation strategies is scarce, and experimental studies exploring these mechanisms are still few. This presentation will share findings from a cluster-randomized controlled trial exploring mechanisms of change of a multifaceted implementation strategy for implementing a guideline for the prevention of mental health problems at the workplace in Swedish schools. First, we will present results from our quantitative study on mechanisms of the multifaceted strategy, where we tested the mediational pathways of nine hypothesized mediators derived from the Theoretical Domains Framework. Second, we will present our qualitative study that used a novel approach to illuminate the specific pathways of each of the discrete implementation strategies delivered within the multifaceted package. Together, these complementary approaches advance understanding of how multifaceted implementation strategies operate in complex, multi-level settings like schools and offer insights relevant to implementing evidence-based practices in other contexts.

Exploring Parental Substance Use in the Child Welfare System: Early Mixed Methods Results and Lessons Learned

Allyson Dir, PhD, HSPP
Indiana University

ABSTRACT:
Parental substance use is a top reason for child welfare involvement and child removal. The  presentation will discuss results from qualitative data exploring parents' experiences navigating the child welfare system and substance use treatment as well as perspectives from child welfare personnel and community substance use providers on the facilitators and barriers to supporting families. Early preliminary results from administrative child welfare data exploring system assessment and monitoring of parental substance use and system decision-making will also be presented, with a focus on plans for future analysis and lessons learned. 

From Field Theory to CFIR: An Umbrella Review of 614 Implementation Science Theories, Models and Frameworks (1939–2022)

Guillaume Fontaine, PhD, MSc, RN
McGill University

ABSTRACT:
This presentation will outline the findings of an umbrella review cataloguing the current universe of implementation science theories, models, and frameworks (TMFs), describing their purposes, structures, analytic levels, and historical trends. From 9,276 records, 44 reviews (2002–2024) were included, identifying 614 unique TMFs published 1939–2022 heavily concentrated in recent decades. Overall, the landscape has expanded from a handful of classics to 614 TMFs, yet only a small subset dominate practice and citations; priorities include pruning redundancy, strengthening rigor, and advancing future TMF development.

From measurement to action: Overcoming the limits of substance use treatment metrics to improve patient initiation, engagement and recovery.

Erika Crable, PhD, MPH
University of California, Los Angeles

Lindsey Zimmerman, PhD
Stanford University

ABSTRACT:
Starting substance use disorder (SUD) treatment reduces odds of overdose and death, making the period after diagnosis a critical window for intervention. Patients who effectively engage in SUD treatment early are more likely to be retained in treatment for at least six months. Based on these findings, the National Center for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Healthcare Effectiveness Data Information Set (HEDIS) initiation and engagement in treatment (IET) measure became one of the most widely used performance measurement systems for health plans, health systems and states. As a strength, IET provides a standard way to assess whether newly identified patients are connected to SUD care. Unfortunately, studies of IET highlight how often systems fail at moving patients into treatments that can meet their needs and thereby, prevent relapse and overdose. In fact, only a minority of people with a new substance use disorder diagnosis start treatment and even fewer engage in treatment over time. During this grand rounds, Drs Crable and Zimmerman will discuss HEDIS IET measures with the PSMG and CDIAS community. This discussion will consider the needs and perspectives of policymakers, health plans and health systems, as well as recommendations for dissemination and implementation scientists and the clinicians who support patients on their journey to recovery by ensuring they can access and benefit from effective SUD care.

Integrating conceptual models to enhance home-based care for complex chronic diseases - SEIPS 3.0 and beyond.

Yuvaram Reddy, MBBS, MPH
University of Pennsylvania

ABSTRACT:
Home-based care for patients with complex chronic diseases can be challenging to administer, in part because these disease states, such as home dialysis for kidney failure, require complex sociotechnical interventions over a long duration of time. The complex nature of these treatments also makes it difficult to apply commonly used implementation science theories, models, and frameworks to improve care delivery. This presentation will describe real-world experiences of adapting and integrating conceptual models from human factors engineering and health equity to understand and address barriers to home dialysis use. In doing so, this presentation aims to illustrate how the systems engineering initiative for patient safety (SEIPS) 3.0 could be used for other complex chronic diseases states. 

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.