? Implementation Laboratory Background and vision. As an Advanced Center, the vision of the Washington University Implementation Science Center for Cancer Control (WU-ISCCC) is to conduct implementation research to help eliminate cancer disparities in rural and other disadvantaged communities. Goal. The Implementation Lab, hereafter called the Innovation Incubator, through Incubator Membership, a Data Management Unit, and a Practice Surveillance Unit, will work closely with the WU-ISCCC Research Program to facilitate implementation science research by connecting investigators to implementation sites in the Membership, convening community and clinical partners to review data and identify needs and priorities, and support evaluation of program outcomes.
Aims. The Incubator will:
Aim 1. Establish leadership structure and functions that enable and support rapid-cycle and innovative implementation science in cancer control.
Aim 2. Sustain and develop additional research partnerships with a range of healthcare systems and organizations/agencies committed to innovative implementation science projects that address social determinants of health and reduce cancer disparities.
Aim 3. Support data systems and resources to manage multi-site projects, collect rigorous data, and produce timely reports to the project leaders and the WU-ISCCC leadership.
Aim 4. Cultivate a surveillance unit to report on progress toward reducing cancer disparities in the populations across Siteman Cancer Center's 82-county catchment area.
Aim 5. Draw on real-time clinical service data from health systems within BJC Healthcare and the BJC Collaborative network to monitor policies, provider practices, patient outcomes and progress in reducing cancer disparities. Innovations and impact. The Incubator will work to fulfill the overall goal of the WU-ISCCC to build a rigorous, scientific evidence base for rapid-cycle implementation research to increase the reach, external validity, and sustainment of effective cancer control interventions. We will convene multi-sector partners to inform and act as settings for innovative and impactful research prioritizing rural and other underserved communities. The Incubator will provide statistical and data support for rigorous execution of pilot and methods studies coming out of the Research Program, supporting investigators from conceptualization and planning through dissemination. These linkages and activities of the Incubator and our diverse Membership will position the WU- ISCCC to accelerate the innovation, pace, and impact of implementation science for cancer control and reduce cancer health disparities in our region and nationwide.
