HIV Implementation Science Coordination Initiative - Project Summary/Abstract Despite having numerous effective HIV interventions and making considerable gains in HIV prevention and care objectives, progress is lagging to meet Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative goals by 2030, especially among individuals disproportionately impacted by HIV. Dissemination and implementation science (D&IS) is recognized as a critical component to EHE to inform the effective scale out of HIV interventions. In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in D&I-related studies, facilitated in great part by federal agencies’ commitment to fund academic–community D&I research projects and D&IS support through the NIH Centers for AIDS Research and NIMH AIDS Research Centers. The Implementation Science Coordination Initiative (ISCI) at the Third Coast Center for AIDS Research has been funded by NIH EHE to provide coordination and D&I scientific leadership to EHE research projects over the last 5 years, during which we have synthesized HIV- specific D&I knowledge; established systems for collecting, analyzing, and reporting D&I data from EHE projects; and created tools to disseminate D&I resources and research findings to EHE-related researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Under this application for a Coordination, Consultation, and Data Management Center, we intend to expand our activities as a national resource and continue collaboration with the Regional Consultation Hubs (RCHs) through three aims: (1) INTEGRATE implementation and effectiveness data across NIH EHE- funded projects to create generalizable knowledge. We will use shared decision-making with projects to choose measures and common data elements for determinants, strategies, and outcomes that will go into a harmonized measures library; deploy a data coordination infrastructure to collect high-quality project data; and identify opportunities for integrated or meta-analyses. (2) ADVANCE the field of D&IS in HIV by facilitating knowledge sharing of D&IS methods and conducting tailored D&IS trainings. In collaboration with the RCHs, EHE researchers, and local/national implementation partners, we will convene expert panels to focus on key science- to-practice gaps that D&IS can help close; conduct timely systematic and scoping reviews to guide the field toward promising implementation strategies; support professional development for early-stage investigators and workshops tailored implementation practitioners; and provide scientific leadership and technical assistance on D&IS methods and protocol development. (3) DIFFUSE D&I research methods and findings to varied research, practice, and policymaker audiences to accelerate translation from research to practice. We will maintain our popular website and newsletter that spotlight findings from EHE projects, share trainings and funding opportunities, and host our open-access Literature Review and EHE Project dashboards; create multimedia implementation packages and policy briefs for “best practice” implementation strategies; disseminate EHE projects findings in symposia at HIV and D&IS conferences; and edit two special journal issues that showcase findings from EHE projects, with an emphasis on cross-project lessons learned.
