Abstract: How to implement research study outcomes into healthcare policy and practice
The following abstract was presented at the Implementation Science and Global Health satellite meeting on March 17, 2010 at Bethesda, Maryland.
Presenter
Elena Varavikova, MD, PhD, MPH
Advisor
Federal Research Public Health Institute on Information & Organization, and University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Co-Author
FIC Award
Overview
The overreaching goal of Preventing FAS/ARND in Russian Children study was to prevent Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ARND). The study was designed to develop prevention through promoting reproductive health and alcohol consumption behavior change. A prevention model has been developed, evidence-based training for physicians have been prepared and evaluated, and a clinical trial to test the prevention model is being conducted currently in St. Petersburg and the Nizhniy Novgorod Region, Russia. The purpose of this presentation is to report on program factors related to long-term institutionalization of the research project outcomes.
Availability of the successful methodology and the first positive outcomes of the study of this international public health project call for special attention to long-term sustainability of the project results. Special effort should be made to institutionalize the methodology and outcomes of the project. We are looking at developing a framework and management program to ensure sustainability of the successful methodology and wide dissemination of evidence-based prevention. Characteristics of the Russian health care system, reproductive health issues, and the alcohol consumption burden should be considered in order to develop a framework for implementation. The FAS/ARND prevention study is an experimental study. Application of well-established CDC and NIH tools, methods, and approaches to developing FAS prevention strategies in Russia showed unquestionable success. Evaluation of the project results and implementation strategies are analyzed through different social and professional groups and stages during the life span of the project. Future progress of the preventive efforts is discussed as a health policy issue in the environment of current health insurance and planning systems in resource-constrained settings. The framework, factors, and common components of institutionalization of a successful research project are discussed.
Updated April 2010