Published in News
In May 2022, we are delivering our first ever Implementation Science Masterclass dedicated to developing capacity among established researchers and implementers in the methodology and science of scale up.
‘Scaling up’ is an important aspect of implementation research, defined by the World Health Organisation as ‘[the expansion and replication of] innovative pilot or small-scale projects to reach more people and/or broaden the effectiveness of an intervention.’
While scale up is acknowledged as a key means to disseminate and propagate proven health interventions, there are many practical considerations and challenges that researchers must consider. These include the feasibility of the project, its translatability into different contexts, cost-effectiveness, the appropriateness of the delivery strategy, and socio-political factors.
Scale up in action
In 2018, we dedicated over $50 million to the scale up of evidence-based interventions for the prevention or management of hypertension and diabetes. The call awarded 27 projects in total, uniting researchers from over 40 countries across the world.
One project funded through this call is the INTE-AFRICA project, which aims to determine the feasibility of scaling up pilot studies on the prevention and management of HIV, diabetes and hypertension in Tanzania and Uganda.
By decentralising diabetes and hypertension treatment to community care clinics, it is hoped to prevent complications and reduce the reliance of patients on primary care centres. Researchers will determine the acceptability of this approach to patients and the community, assess the numbers of patients treated and their outcomes, and the cost effectiveness compared to standard care.
Researchers involved in this project were awarded the ‘International Collaboration of the Year’ at The Times Higher Education Awards in 2021 for their collaborative and inclusive research partnerships.