In 2023, I was awarded a Career Development Award (CDA) from the UArizona Health Sciences Administration and Zuckerman College of Public Health. This award provides me protected time to engage in training and research activities related to dissemination and implementation research (D&I). The specific aims of the research are:

Aim 1: (a) Develop an interactive training that explains OSP strategies for rural healthcare leaders and (b) Assess fit, acceptability, training, and technical assistance needs for implementing OSP strategies. We will partner with the Arizona Center for Rural Health (AzCRH) and the Western Region Public Health Training Center (WRPHTC) to develop innovative and effective training materials and invite healthcare leaders to participate in a survey where the training sessions are embedded. Guided by Murphy’s model11, this will include developing the training, asking healthcare leaders to watch a brief video description of each OSP strategy, followed by a survey that includes categorical, continuous, and open-ended questions that assess fit, acceptability, and training and technical assistance needs for implementation. 

Aim 2: Assess readiness to implement OSPs to address pain and addiction among Arizona rural health care professionals. We will conduct a survey with rural Arizona healthcare professionals to assess readiness to implement OSPs. Implementation readiness is an important construct for translational science. Identifying the OSP strategies that organizations are ready to implement will help us target and tailor our S-TTA efforts to be tested in a randomized control trial in real world settings.