Implementation Science Branch

The Implementation Science and Health Care Innovation program focuses on a rigorous evidence review, evidence integration, and implementation research that will lead to generalizable knowledge and help accelerate innovation in healthcare delivery for the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders in clinical and community settings. The research includes innovative strategies, methods, tools, and technologies to quicken implementation and de-implementation research; inclusion of data from pragmatic trials; decision planning support tools for public and healthcare professions to use to overcome barriers and move toward shared decision making and risk communication. 

The Implementation Science and Health Systems program supports research on the frameworks, methodologies, and strategies to understand late stage T4 implementation on health systems, population-level, and community-based data. Methodologies that advance multi-site implementation, pragmatic hybrid implementation clinical trails and mixed method studies for heart, lung, blood and sleep diseases are of interest. Complex methodology studies including predictive analytics and machine learning to improve the translation of knowledge into health impact using big data and learning health systems are encouraged.

The Implementation Science and Genomics program supports innovative methods and approaches to improve the integration of genomic discoveries into real-world settings, and to enhance precision medicine initiatives in heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders. This program also aims to accelerate the translation of evidence-based genomic findings into clinical and public health practices, offering promising opportunities for precision prevention, detection, evaluation, treatment, and control of HLBS diseases and disorders for diverse populations. Additionally, the program supports research that emphasizes the use of validated implementation research frameworks to explore the adoption, scale-up, and greater use of clinical practice guidelines when available for genetic and rare diseases, including sickle cell disease and familial hypocholesteremia.  

The Implementation Science in HIV/AIDS program supports implementation science strategies to address barriers that impede the scale-up and application of scientifically proven interventions in community and clinical settings for the prevention, control, and treatment of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders in people living with HIV. Research in this program seeks to understand the relevant patient, provider, and public health stakeholders, to examine novel and innovative late-stage implementation science strategies, to reduce disease burden worldwide, and to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS.

The NHLBI HIV/AIDS Program provides overall leadership for research in the areas of HIV and heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. The NIH Office of AIDS Research develops the Trans-NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-Related Research, which serves as a roadmap for NIH HIV/AIDS research.

The Implementation Science of Sleep and Regulation program supports research related to sleep-disordered breathing, the fundamental functions of sleep and circadian rhythms and airway regulation. Areas of focus include research that advances the late-stage T4 translation of effective interventions to improve behavioral and lifestyle factors and social and environmental influences that improve physical health, sleep health, airway functions, and metabolic functions and that also lower the risk of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. Other research priorities include strategies to facilitate the population-level implementation of evidence-based interventions to decrease the disproportionate burden of sleep, cardiopulmonary, and metabolic disorders among children, certain racial or ethnic groups, and those from certain socioeconomic backgrounds.

The Implementation Science in Nutrition and Obesity program supports implementation research that investigates the role of nutrition, physical activity, and obesity on population-level outcomes for heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders across diverse settings. This includes research on the implementation of environmental, policy, and population-based prevention strategies to improve overall health and nutrition intake and to prevent and reduce obesity and other heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. Other areas of interest include research on pediatric, adolescent, and underrepresented populations, as well as on the implementation of nutrition and physical activity guidelines.

Research Training and Career Development Programs in Implementation Science support sustainable scientific workforce development and research capacity development in T4 translation research and implementation science to address heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. A strong foundation in dissemination and implementation research, employing theories, models, frameworks, and analytic techniques to reduce research practice gaps and improve implementation outcomes, is a core aspect of this training program. Collaborations with members of the community that serve diverse communities to enhance context-sensitive research designs in the successful implementation of evidence-based practices are emphasized. Focus areas for this program include theory, implementation, and evaluation approaches; creating partnerships with multilevel, transdisciplinary research teams; using research design, methods, and analyses appropriate for implementation; and conducting research at different and multiple levels of intervention (e.g., clinical, community, policy) and across health care, public health, and community settings. View current NHLBI training and career development opportunities.

This program leverages the Institute’s Small Business grant mechanisms to support the development of innovative technology, service delivery models, or designs to increase the adoption, uptake, and sustainability of evidence-based guideline recommendations for the management of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. These technologies or service delivery models should include multilevel (health systems, provider, and patient) facets and benefit certain populations, such as racial or ethnic minority groups, rural populations, and low socioeconomic status groups.