Evidence to Impact: Accelerating Implementation of Aging Research

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ABSTRACT Expected increases in the number of older adults, in general with more complex health needs, creates both challenges and opportunities for health care systems and services to optimize health and well-being. While the demand on primary care and the continuum of health services changes with age, the need for evidence-based interventions that respond to the needs of older adults becomes even more apparent. However, the process of translating evidence to practice is neither automatic nor easy, even when supported by strong evidence. It is estimated that only 14% of a population receives an intervention even 17 years after efficacy is established. Targeted activities that integrate researchers, clinicians, healthcare administrators and stakeholders are needed to accelerate evidence adoption. Even among areas with evidence adoption, significant opportunities remain in aging research to increase attention to implementation at scale (Stage V of the NIH Stage Model). Leveraging a partnership across NIA centers and a strong collaboration between Duke and Wake Forest Universities, we are proposing a conference series to identify, problem solve and address real-world barriers to research translation. Generating collaboration and engagement opportunities across NIA centers and investigators could facilitate health system adoption of interventions with new evidence or established interventions with limited scale. Emphasis is also needed on implementation or de-implementation of interventions, policies and practices with wide disparities and under- or overuse. Our aims are to (1) engage researchers to identify and help disseminate interventions for older adults in health care settings with evidence to maintain or restore independence that have yet to be adopted or reach equitable implementation to scale; (2) explore innovative and pragmatic strategies to optimize implementation in new collaborative teams; and (3) provide an annual aging research and health care conference that intersects the application of scientific methodologies of implementation, improvement and learning health system sciences with health care service delivery, payment and policy. Our commitment to equity and diversity will help integrate individuals from different perspectives to bring renewed energy and creativity to overcome gaps in knowledge, therapeutic inertia, and processes for change. To improve accessibility of the meeting, this series will be held as a pre- conference to the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Centers (OAIC) Coordinating Center annual meeting and be facilitated with options for virtual or telephonic remote participation. Our goal—to stimulate new research-clinical-administrative partnerships that accelerate evidence to impact and advance healthcare equity—aligns with several of NIA’s strategic directions as we focus on implementation (and de- implementation) of interventions to improve older adults’ health, well-being and independence and reduce health disparities.