Objective 2.3: Develop and test strategies for effectively and sustainably implementing evidence-based prevention interventions
To increase the public health impact of effective prevention interventions, increased attention must be given to two types of implementation science: research that considers implementation and scale-up issues during intervention development and testing in order to increase the likelihood of uptake; and research to develop and test systematic, measurable, and replicable strategies for optimizing the adoption, uptake, and sustainability of evidence-based prevention interventions and practices with fidelity in real-world settings. NIDA will support research on the complex processes through which evidence-based interventions are adopted, implemented, and sustained at the community level, with a strong orientation toward devising empirically driven strategies for increasing their population impact.
Research is needed to test novel modes of intervention delivery, as well as to understand factors that influence the integration and sustainability of evidence-based prevention interventions across community and health care settings. This objective will also prioritize the development of new quantitative methods for data analysis and experimental design, as well as benefit-cost analyses to facilitate uptake and support for investing in prevention by policymakers and funders.
Approaches
- Identify obstacles to large-scale implementation of evidence-based prevention interventions and develop approaches to resolving those obstacles
- Identify the infrastructure and training needed to support large-scale adoption, implementation, and sustainability of evidence-based prevention interventions
- Identify ways the Affordable Care Act and related regulatory changes can best be leveraged to increase implementation of prevention interventions for substance use and related problems
- Explore the use of technology to improve the dissemination and sustainable implementation of evidence-based prevention interventions