Education & Training

Dr. Faust presents a non-technical overview of methods used to analyze networks, with an emphasis on social networks. Topics include: formal representations of social networks (graphs and sociomatrices), social network data considerations, and methods for analyzing social networks (connectivity, centrality, cohesive subgroups, equivalences and blockmodels, subgraphs, and structural hypotheses).

Dr. Valente describes methods for using network analysis to elucidate the antecedents and consequences of health-related behaviors. To do this, he draws from a number of examples of his applied work in the areas of substance abuse prevention and treatment, contraceptive choices, and community coalitions, among others. He also describes how applied research utilizing network analysis methods can be used to stimulate improvement in individual, community, and organizational behavior change programs. 

This series of online lectures covers a range of diverse topics in data science such as data management, data representation, computing, data modeling, and other overarching topics. This series is an introductory overview that assumes no prior knowledge or understanding of data science. 

In this Methods: Mind the Gap presentation, Dr. Selvin discusses the importance of epidemiologic evidence in informing strategies and cut points for screening and diagnosis of diabetes. A focus is on the evidence supporting the importance of the hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test and current controversies regarding screening and diagnosis of prediabetes.

Dr. Karen Emmons and Dr. Lawrence Green discuss the interface between public health and implementation science, past, present, and future. 

In this Methods: Mind the Gap webinar, Dr. Kay Dickersin reviews models of how systematic reviews are being used globally to plan, implement, and derive recommendations from comparative effectiveness research (CER). She also reviews some of the existing challenges to using systematic reviews and methods being used to address these challenges.

Time-varying effect modeling (TVEM) is a novel method that enables health, behavioral, and social scientists to examine developmental (i.e., age-varying) and dynamic (i.e., time-varying) associations. In this Methods: Mind the Gap webinar, Dr. Stephanie Lanza discusses potential research questions that can be addressed using TVEM, and provides resources for researchers interested in using the models in their own work.

The series provides an overview of analytic approaches, methods, and statistical applications for analyzing tobacco regulatory science (TRS) data. The presenters include an esteemed group of scientists, well known for their work in methodological research dealing with casual inference. The webinars are intended for any investigator funded by the Center for Tobacco Products. 

During this webinar, participants learn more about The Community Guide and activities underway to help communities use evidence-based recommendations and findings found in The Community Guide to take action and implement community health improvement activities in collaboration with health departments and other community partners.

The National Cancer Institute is hosting this training institute to provide participants with a thorough grounding in conducting D&I research with a specific focus on cancer, across the cancer control continuum. In 2020, the institute will use a combination of online coursework (six modules with related assignments) and a 2-day in-person training to be held August 3 and 4, 2020, at the NCI campus in Bethesda, MD. Faculty and guest lecturers consist of leading experts in D&I theories, models, and frameworks; intervention fidelity and adaptation; stakeholder engagement and partnership for D&I; research methods and study designs for D&I; and measures and outcomes for D&I. This training institute has been adapted from the broader Training Institute for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (TIDIRH), organized by NIH and the VA over the past nine years.

This training is designed for investigators at any career stage interested in conducting D&I research with a focus on the cancer control continuum. There is no cost associated with the training. Invited participants are required to cover related travel expenses to the Washington D.C. area for the in-person meeting. More answers to common questions can be found on the site FAQ.

In this Methods: Mind the Gap webinar, Dr. William Vollmer provides some examples of the types of prevention activities that can be fostered using the Electronic Medical Record (EMR), offers some historical perspective on the challenges of using the EMR to conduct research more generally, and gives specific examples of prevention-oriented research that heavily relies on the EMR for its conduct.

Dr. Laura Damschroder’s webinar introduces Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and its application in a series of studies highlighting its use to guide data collection, analyses, and its potential for syntheses; and to guide tailoring of implementation strategies.

Dr. Greg Aarons’ webinar introduces the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework and its application in a series of studies highlighting its use to guide data collection, analyses, and its potential for syntheses; and to guide tailoring of implementation strategies.

Dr. Abe Wandersman’s webinar continued a series of presentations and discussions about the development and application of frequently-used implementation research models and frameworks. Dr. Wandersman, key developer of the Interactive Systems Framework (ISF), discusses the genesis of the framework, key terms and concepts, and then presents projects that have used the ISF as a core lens to support planning and study of evidence-based practice implementation.  

Dr. Sharon Straus, one of the primary authors of the Knowledge to Action Framework (KTA), discusses the genesis of the framework, key stages within the cycle, challenges to knowledge translation, and then presents examples of how the KTA framework has been used within a range of projects. Dr. Straus’ presentation also concentrates on the specific challenge of studying sustainability, and reflects on the degree to which the framework can extend beyond research into clinical practice use.

In this Methods: Mind the Gap presentation, Dr. Hekler first reviews the need for optimization of adaptive interventions, building on MOST, followed by an overview of control systems engineering and attributes of problems that are well matched to control engineering. He then summarizes key steps in the development and optimization of an adaptive intervention using this approach, leading to a COT.

In this Methods: Mind the Gap presentation, Dr. Klasnja describes how micro-randomized trials can be used to make data-driven decisions about how exactly individual components of mHealth interventions should work to optimize their effectiveness. He argues that a key value of micro-randomized trials during intervention development is their ability to generate data for informing decisions about the many specifics—from the design of the interface to the adaptation algorithms—that must be determined to implement an mHealth intervention. Data from micro-randomized trials enable such decisions to be made in ways that maximize intervention effectiveness while minimizing user burden.

In this Methods: Mind the Gap webinar, Dr. Siobhan Phillips provides an overview of how digital health tools can be used to better understand and optimize physical activity promotion interventions.  

Implementation science methodologies, approaches, and tools have a great interdisciplinary applicability. Dr. Alice Ammerman’s webinar discusses what new (and "new to") D&I investigators need to know to succeed in this burgeoning field.