In September 2022, GACD held their latest annual Implementation Science School. This was the fifth School offered by GACD for those with an interest in non-communicable diseases and implementation science in low- and middle-income countries.
Once again, the School ran online over two and a half weeks and was led by a faculty of prominent global experts in the field of implementation science. The School comprised a series of online plenary and small group training sessions which accommodated different time zones.
The 38 international trainees are all postgraduates in public health, health science, implementation science or a similar equivalent. A majority came from and/or were undertaking research in low- and middle-income countries; and all had a research interest in non-communicable diseases. Trainees were guided through expert-led lectures and panel discussions, and participated in dynamic small group sessions supported in their teamwork by a cadre of rising star facilitators.
Trainees learned how to conceive and develop implementation research studies and how to select and apply key theories, models, and frameworks within their research. They explored the importance of engaging stakeholders to have the best opportunity to translate research findings into policy and practice; and were encouraged to create their own professional network for future collaborations.
Every participant of the School has been on a different, colourful path that led them to implementation science.
Cleopatra’s journey
Trainee Cleopatra Matanhire-Zihanzu, recognises that implementation science has been something she’s been passionate about for a long time, perhaps without even knowing it.
Cleopatra is a Zimbabwean-trained dental surgeon, with an MBA from the University of Zimbabwe and an MSc in global health from the University of Glasgow. She was motivated to move into policy influencing work after realising that there were issues in her field of healthcare service in Zimbabwe.
She discovered a substantial research evidence base was needed to change policy. Despite being, as she describes it, ‘scared of research’ at this stage in her career, she took the plunge. While Cleopatra was working on an oral health and mental health research project in Zimbabwe, unfortunately, due to the impact of COVID-19, her team’s funding ran out before they could undertake the dissemination and implementation aspect of their research. Ever the optimist, while the research project was paused, Cleopatra spotted the opportunity to take part in the School and jumped at the chance.
Building capacity and community
Rajesh Vedanthan is a cardiologist by training, and currently the director of the Section for Global Health at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine.
He has been involved with implementation research to optimise cardiovascular care delivery in low-resource settings worldwide, primarily focused in rural western Kenya, and more recently, northern Ghana.
Rajesh has been involved as faculty with the School since its inception, sharing his knowledge and his own in-depth experiences. He sees the School as a very special initiative, that aims to help build the knowledge base and capacity for implementation research among researchers around the world.
He explains that, by bringing together faculty and investigators from all over the world, the curriculum is fashioned to provide an introduction to the principles of implementation research and demonstrate it can move from theory into practice.
An experienced facilitator within the School
Tilahun Haregu was originally a trainee in at the in-person School in Bangkok in 2019 but now plays a key role as an experienced facilitator within the School. Tilahun’s main research interests are in the field of epidemiology and the policy challenges of cardiovascular disease, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Broadening his knowledge and experience, he currently manages NHMRC-funded implementation research projects on diabetes and hypertension prevention in India.
As one of the School’s facilitators, Tilahun is hands-on with the trainees’ learning. He initiates the team sessions, moderates dynamic discussion among trainees, asks and addresses questions from members as they develop the team assignment, and supports them in putting together the end-of-programme team presentation.
Learning virtually: its opportunities and challenges
Navigating the remote aspect of the School is a challenge, with trainees in vastly different time zones and with varying access to internet.
GACD organisers have made the School as accessible as possible, with staggered sessions, the use of zoom and online resources on the GACD e-hub.
In Zimbabwe, Cleopatra would often park her car whilst on her way home from work to join the meetings. She also found that internet issues were unavoidable at times, despite putting several back-ups in place.
Even with these challenges, she recognises the gravity of having access to the School at all. She explains that she feels lucky, in a way, that the pandemic stimulated online, remote education. For those from lower- and middle-income countries like herself, she realises that this provides a huge opportunity – prior to this, who would have funded the travel and the extra-curricular self-development opportunities, she wonders?
Rajesh has been involved in both the in-person and the online School. He, like Cleopatra, sees the undeniable advantage of using a virtual platform for expanding the School’s audience.
While he understands that the interpersonal connection that comes about at in-person events is difficult to replicate in a virtual platform, he explains that now, the School has trainees from all over the world, who previously may not have been able to attend because of travel, expenses, logistics, work, or personal commitments.
He also adds that the School’s organisers and facilitators have done an amazing job to try and create a sense of community in the virtual format.
“No longer ground zero”: A maturing field
Rajesh explains that the field of dissemination and implementation science is maturing, and with that, trainees are now coming to the School with much more practical experience and knowledge of basic principles of the field than they did a few years ago – “no longer ground zero”.
That being said, some trainees are still fairly new to implementation research. Cleopatra, coming from a clinical background, describes noticing that some of her fellow trainees seemed more familiar with the theories, models and frameworks. But she saw this interaction between herself and peers as almost like a patchwork-quilt of knowledge and experience. “Even if I had read the theoretical aspect of something, somebody else really understands it. We tried to play to our strengths, and that made it easier and more collatable.”
Cleopatra was part of the winning team on the end-of-course presentation competition. Her team included Alethea Desrosiers, Maja Pederson, Jiani Ma and Rebecca Nixdorf and their proposed project focused on a positive mental health intervention among Sierra Leonean youth in schools.
International connections and opportunities
The School accepted trainees from institutions that spanned 25 countries and six continents. This meant that within each team, there would be people from different continents working together.
The School provides trainees with a global network of peers and faculty who they can turn to for help and collaboration. The School organisers have created an alumni community to help cement these friendships and connections.
Trainees are also told about future funding and advanced training opportunities which may arise and help further their career. Rajesh noted that there have been several examples of grant proposals and research projects which have evolved, unconnected from the School directly, from the relationships and connections formed through the School.
“Many doors opening” for Cleopatra and her team
After the School, Cleopatra and her colleagues found themselves going back to their project proposals and reviewing them with implementation science in mind, and thinking more about long-term sustainability.
Her team have recently heard that have been successful in their application to receive a grant to initiate the second phase of their research, specifically for the implementation aspect.
She says that what she gained from learning the discipline of implementation was vital to achieving this grant and enriching her research. “As we speak, I have many doors opening because I’m now thinking like a dissemination and implementation science practitioner.”
Interested in taking part next year?
If you are interested in participating in the School in the future, please visit this webpage to find updates about applying or explore our Implementation Science e-Hub.