Bridging Research, Practice, and Policy

Abstract

Innovative models to facilitate more rapid uptake of research findings into practice are urgently needed. Community members who engage in research can accelerate this process by acting as adoption agents. We implemented an Evidence Academy conference model bringing together researchers, health professionals, advocates, and policy makers across North Carolina to discuss high-impact, life-saving study results. The overall goal is to develop dissemination and implementation strategies for translating evidence into practice and policy. Each one-day, single-theme, regional meeting focuses on a leading community-identified health priority. The model capitalizes on the power of diverse local networks to encourage broad, common awareness of new research findings. Furthermore, it emphasizes critical reflection and active group discussion on how to incorporate new evidence within and across organizations, health care systems, and communities. During the concluding session, participants are asked to articulate action plans relevant to their individual interests, work setting, or area of expertise.

Adapting the Evidence Academy model for virtual stakeholder engagement in a national setting during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Rooted in the principles of community engagement [14], we leveraged collaborative approaches to bring together community and academic stakeholders to collectively learn, discuss, and generate recommendations for addressing SARS-CoV-2 testing and testing technologies in populations of greatest impact. Unlike the original, in-person regional EA conference [27,28], we fostered more in-depth discussion of recommended actions during the event, and more rapidly generated and disseminated products (e.g., toolkits and community webinars) for advancing the engaged science and practice on COVID-19 testing and testing technologies. Specifically, each EA built on the prior EA as the RADx-UP community learned more about the science of the pandemic.…”

Twenty years of capacity building across the cancer prevention and control research network

“…The Evidence Academy Conference Model was developed in 2010 to bring together researchers, health professionals, community members, and policy makers to share the latest EBIs and plan for implementation at the local level. Dr. Cathy Melvin, Principal Investigator of the UNC-CPCRN, envisioned EAs as “a co-learning experience for a relatively small, well-defined network of individuals who represent different sectors but share a collective interest in a specific health priority” [ 32 ].…”

“…Outside of these common elements, EA planners have made adaptations to the model to fit specific topics, community partners, audiences, and funding opportunities. Early EAs in North Carolina were held in rotating locations across the state and offered CMEs/CEUs to encourage professional organizations to send their employees [ 32 ]. The Hypertension EA in North Carolina was the first to be funded by an external grant, which provided resources for implementation activities through a year-long Action Learning Cohort [ 33 ].…”

“…As described in Bridging Research, Practice, and Policy: The “Evidence Academy” Conference Model [ 32 ], 4CNC staff continued to engage with community after the event. A regional cancer coalition subsequently convened strategic planning meetings to work on improving referral systems between counties and across the cancer care continuum.…”

Lessons Learned from the Medical University of South Carolina Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center (TCC) in Precision Medicine and Minority Men’s Health

“…While we were successful in the dissemination of key information, given the fast-paced nature of discovery, communicating information about precision medicine can be especially challenging. Initially, our approach focused on using an evidence academy model as the primary method for disseminating information because it emphasizes integrating research, practice, and policy ( Rohweder et al, 2016 ). Alternative models for dissemination and implementation may have been better suited to promote the communication of evidence-based practices for precision medicine to potential users or specific target audiences.…”