But Will It Work Here? Anthropology Meets Implementation Science

But Will It Work Here?  Anthropology Meets Implementation Science

But Will It Work Here?  Anthropology Meets Implementation Science

A broad gap exists between health research findings and their real-world utility, which the interdisciplinary and still emerging field of Implementation Science (IS) seeks to bridge. IS strives to solve human problems in dynamic, complex, real-world settings in real time.  Both Anthropology and IS are iterative and non-linear in their approach, embracing complexity and context as well as qualitative methods. Such similarities suggest genuine compatibility and Anthropology has contributed significantly to implementation studies. In spite of this, Anthropology’s presence in Implementation Science as a whole has been limited. This presentation will give a brief overview of Implementation Science and recent anthropological activity in this area.  It will explore opportunities and challenges for future anthropological contributions and collaborations as this young field matures.

Dr. Suzanne Heurtin-Roberts is a Medical Anthropologist and Social Worker at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), where she is a member of the Implementation Science Team.  Her current work focuses on implementation of interventions in health care delivery, the improvement of qualitative research methods in implementation and the contextualization of health services research.  She is presently closing out a national study of a patient-reported health risk assessment in primary care called the My Own Health Report (MOHR) Project.  Dr. Heurtin-Roberts has served in leadership roles on health equity and quality-improvement efforts with several federal offices, agencies and committees.   At NCI’s Community Cancer Clinic in Columbia Heights, DC, she was the Director of Community Outreach working on cancer screening efforts.  As Senior Advisor to the NIH Acting Director and Deputy Director, Dr. Heurtin-Roberts led a trans-NIH initiative on community health research funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  In 2006, she received the NIH Director’s Merit Award for her work on the NIH Social Work Task Force to strengthen Social Work Research at the NIH. Before coming to the NIH Dr. Heurtin-Roberts was on faculty at the National School of Social Services at the Catholic University of America.  She has published in the areas of implementation science, anthropological practice, chronic illness, adherence, health equity and mental health services research. Dr. Heurtin-Roberts‘current passion is strengthening the presence of anthropology in Implementation Science and Knowledge Transfer.