"I Knew I Could Make a Difference": Motivations and Barriers to Engagement in Fighting the West African Ebola Outbreak Among U.S.-Based Health Professionals.

The 2014 West African Ebola outbreak was unprecedented in scale and required significant international assistance. Many U.S.-based health professionals traveled to West Africa to participate in the response, whereas others considered participation, but ultimately decided against it. This study explores motivators, facilitators, and barriers to international health care worker mobilization. We conducted 24 semistructured in-depth interviews and one focus group discussion with clinical and nonclinical responders and nonresponders. Responders reported feeling duty-bound to help, confidence in their training, and prior experience in humanitarian response. Media coverage was perceived to create environments of stigma and misinformation. Supportive workplaces and clear leave of absence policies facilitated engagement, whereas unsupportive workplaces posed barriers. Although nonresponders were included in the study, the dynamics of nonresponse were less clear and warrant further exploration. Understanding how to support health professionals in responding to outbreak situations may improve mobilization in future public health crises.

Embedding research to improve program implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In the last 10 years, implementation research has come to play a critical role in improving the implementation of already-proven health interventions by promoting the systematic uptake of research findings and other evidence-based strategies into routine practice. The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research and the Pan American Health Organization implemented a program of embedded implementation research to support health programs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in 2014-2015. A total of 234 applications were received from 28 countries in the Americas. The Improving Program Implementation through Embedded Research (iPIER) scheme supported 12 implementation research projects led by health program implementers from nine LAC countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Saint Lucia. Through this experience, we learned that the "insider" perspective, which implementers bring to the research proposal, is particularly important in identifying research questions that focus on the systems failures that often manifest in barriers to implementation. This paper documents the experience of and highlights key conclusions about the conduct of embedded implementation research. The iPIER experience has shown great promise for embedded research models that place implementers at the helm of implementation research initiatives.

Embedding research to improve program implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean / Integrar a pesquisa para melhorar a implementação de programas na América Latina e no Caribe

In the last 10 years, implementation research has come to play a critical role in improving the implementation of already-proven health interventions by promoting the systematic uptake of research findings and other evidence-based strategies into routine practice. The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research and the Pan American Health Organization implemented a program of embedded implementation research to support health programs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in 2014–2015. A total of 234 applications were received from 28 countries in the Americas. The Improving Program Implementation through Embedded Research (iPIER) scheme supported 12 implementation research projects led by health program implementers from nine LAC countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Saint Lucia. Through this experience, we learned that the “insider” perspective, which implementers bring to the research proposal, is particularly important in identifying research questions that focus on the systems failures that often manifest in barriers to implementation. This paper documents the experience of and highlights key conclusions about the conduct of embedded implementation research. The iPIER experience has shown great promise for embedded research models that place implementers at the helm of implementation research initiatives.

Na última década, a pesquisa em implementação tem tido papel fundamental em melhorar a implementação de intervenções de saúde comprovadas com o incentivo à absorção metódica dos resultados de pesquisas e outras constatações na prática diária. A Aliança para Pesquisa em Políticas e Sistemas de Saúde e a Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde criaram um programa de pesquisa em implementação integrada para dar respaldo aos programas de saúde na América Latina e no Caribe (ALC) em 2014–2015. Foram recebidas ao todo 234 propostas provenientes de 28 países nas Américas. A iniciativa Melhorar a Implementação de Programas com Pesquisa Integrada (iPIER) subsidiou 12 projetos de pesquisa em implementação conduzidos pelos responsáveis pela execução dos programas públicos de saúde de nove países da ALC: Argentina, Bolívia, Brasil, Chile, Colômbia, México, Panamá, Peru e Santa Lúcia. Esta experiência ensinou que a perspectiva dos “insiders” (pessoal interno), que os responsáveis pela execução dos programas imprimem à proposta da pesquisa, é essencial para identificar a problemática a ser pesquisada com foco nas falhas dos sistemas, que em geral se manifestam como obstáculos à implementação. Neste artigo se destacam a experiência e as principais conclusões sobre a realização de pesquisa em implementação integrada. A experiência iPIER demonstrou serem bastante promissores os modelos de pesquisa integrada quando os responsáveis pela execução dos programas assumem as rédeas das iniciativas de pesquisa em implementação.

En los últimos 10 años, las investigaciones sobre la ejecución de programas han desempeñado una función crucial en lo que respecta a la mejora de la ejecución de intervenciones de salud de eficacia comprobada, porque han promovido la incorporación sistemática de los resultados de investigaciones y otras estrategias basadas en datos probatorios en la práctica cotidiana. Entre el 2014 y el 2015, la Alianza para la Investigación en Políticas y Sistemas de Salud, y la Organización Panamericana de la Salud pusieron en marcha un proyecto que propone incorporar las investigaciones sobre la ejecución para apoyar a los programas de salud en América Latina y el Caribe. En total, se recibieron 234 solicitudes de 28 países de las Américas. La iniciativa “Mejora de la Ejecución de los Programas mediante la Incorporación de la Investigación (iPIER)” respaldó la realización de 12 proyectos de investigación dirigidos por ejecutores de programas de salud de nueve países de América Latina y el Caribe: Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, México, Panamá, Perú y Santa Lucía. Gracias a esta experiencia, somos conscientes de que la perspectiva “desde dentro”, con la que contribuyen los ejecutores a la propuesta de investigación, es particularmente importante para definir las preguntas de investigación que apuntan a las deficiencias de los sistemas a menudo manifestadas a través de obstáculos que dificultan la ejecución. Este artículo documenta la experiencia derivada de las investigaciones incorporadas en la ejecución de los programas y destaca las conclusiones más importantes. La experiencia iPIER resulta muy prometedora para los modelos de ejecución que proponen incorporar las investigaciones y que colocan a los ejecutores al mando de estas iniciativas.