How Implementation Science Improves Access to Care (P1.284)

OBJECTIVE: Implementation science aims at bringing new or unavailable methods of treatment or prevention to patients. This paper introduces neurologists to implementation science, provides some examples, and discusses support for future projects. BACKGROUND: The epilepsy treatment gap is describes the failure of new or appropriate therapies to reach patients, particularly in countries with limited resources or in rural areas. Obstacles may include lack of knowledge by physicians, inadequate access to medical care, cost, or social stigma. Implementation science produces generalizable data about such obstacles, and methods to reduce or remove them. DESIGN/METHODS: The Fogarty International Center, with the National Institutes of Health and others, have assembled a Working Group to engage neurologists in learning more about implementation science, identifying appropriate targets for research, and extending the reach of effective interventions for epilepsy and other neurological disorders. The Working Group is launching the Learning Collaborative for Implementation Science in Global Brain Disorders, to raise awareness of implementation science strategies, promote research priorities such as reducing the epilepsy treatment gap, and support investigators engaged in this type of research. Some projects arising from the program, The Global Burden of Epilepsy: Out of the Shadows, used implementation science to demonstrate how the treatment gap can be narrowed in certain regions. RESULTS: The Working Group is currently executing a needs assessment and developing a work plan for collaborative learning and improved capacity in implementation science in neurology. CONCLUSIONS: Using the methods of implementation science often involves improving connections between clinical research results, medical practice, and health care policy. The neuroscience community can demonstrate how care for neurological disorders can be improved by engaging diverse stakeholders in implementation science projects. Support for such research may become available through the Fogarty Center and its partner institutes within the National Institutes of Health. Disclosure: Dr. Bergen has nothing to disclose.