Population Science and Community Engagement
- Center for Community Health
- Dissemination and Implementation Science Center
- Population Research Scientific Methods Unit
- Community Research Partnership Unit
- Resources for Community Members
Dissemination and implementation research intends to bridge the gap between research, practice, and policy by building a knowledge base about how health information, effective interventions, and new clinical practices, guidelines and policies are communicated and integrated for public health and health care service use in specific settings. (NIH PAR-19-274). Recognizing the need for increased capacity in D&I research, training and leadership, we established the UC San Diego DISC in 2020 as a center focusing on dissemination and implementation science across UC San Diego Health Sciences. Key activities provided by the UC San Diego ACTRI DISC include training, consultation, technical assistance, and mentoring to advance D&I science with a local, national, and global impact.
Establish UC San Diego as a nationally and internationally recognized flagship for dissemination and implementation (D&I) science through training, technical assistance, community engagement, and research advancement.
Advance UC San Diego's public health impact locally and globally through D&I science.
Access UCSD ACTRI DISC's publications here.
The UCSD ACTRI DISC offers personalized consultations to help you navigate D&I models, measures, and study designs. Whether you're new to D&I or refining an existing project, we provide tailored resources, expert recommendations, and connections to content-specific specialists. Our services are open to everyone, regardless of field or experience level. Learn more about our consultation services and team by clicking the "DISC Consultation & Consultation Team" section below!
Gregory Aarons
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Borsika Rabin |
Lauren Brookman-Frazee |
Nicole Stadnick |
Register for either session:
Session 1: https://uchealth.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpcuyorTsuE9JHBWvgFXQNCt_HpQwLcL-0
Session 2: https://uchealth.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpc-GrrTspE9aVuzikNPRJNly-GrJZYI7l
DISC Seminar Series (3rd Thursday of the month)
Register for DISC Seminar Series
Adaptation, Fidelity & Tailoring Workgroup (2nd Monday of the month)
San Diego Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Related Disabilities (San Diego LEND)
The San Diego Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Related Disabilities program (San Diego LEND) is a unique, interdisciplinary leadership training program funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The San Diego LEND is administered through the UC San Diego Altman Clinical Translational Research Institute Dissemination and Implementation Science Center in collaboration with San Diego State University and Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, and government and community agencies within San Diego and Imperial Counties. San Diego LEND is part of a national network of 60 LEND training programs.
The San Diego LEND program provides interdisciplinary and leadership training to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, medical residents and fellows, practicing professionals, family members, and self-advocates focused on applying implementation science to promote access to evidence-based services for individuals with autism and other developmental disorders (Autism/DD). Training activities are scheduled from August through May and there are multiple training intensity options ranging from 40 to 300 hours over the training period.
What makes San Diego LEND unique?
San Diego LEND faculty have expertise applying implementation science, the scientific study of methods and strategies to promote the use of evidence-based practice and research by practitioners and policymakers, across community service systems caring for individuals with Autism/DD.
We offer specialized training in implementation leadership, which is strategic leadership focused on supporting the use and sustainment of evidence-based practices.
We leverage strong community partnerships and multi-institutional collaboration offering opportunities to use the strengths and expertise of both academic institutions and community partners to target service disparities and promote equity in access to evidence-based Autism/DD services.
We strive to provide interdisciplinary training that is responsive to the unique characteristics of our border community of San Diego and Imperial Counties with the goal of improving service and clinical outcomes for our residents.
Why become a LEND trainee?
Benefits to being a San Diego LEND trainee include:
Building expertise in autism, developmental disabilities, and other neurodiverse populations
Developing advocacy and leadership skills
Co-learning with trainees and faculty from multiple disciplines and perspectives
Collaborating with experts in developmental disabilities, implementation science, and community partnerships across service systems.
Promoting culturally responsive care and equitable service access
Receiving stipend payment (for some trainees)
Learn more about San Diego LEND
The UC San Diego ACTRI DISC offers two membership categories: DISC General Member and DISC Investigator.
Complete this 5-minute questionnaire and join DISC today!
DISC Monthly Seminar
Monthly learning community to discuss the latest in D&I literature, workshop new proposals and learn from D&I experts.
DISC Seminar is held monthly on the 3rd Thursday of the month from 2-3:00pm Pacific Time. Topic and location information sent in monthly emails. Select recordings are available on the DISC Youtube channel.
Access seminar archives prior to 2019
Seminar Archives
Journal Club Date |
Presenter/Discussant |
Presentation |
Readings & Resources |
October 2019 |
Quality Improvement and Improvement Science for Geriatrics Research & Practice |
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November 2019 |
VA Merit Resubmission |
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December 2019 |
Part I of a mini-series focused on Innovative Methods in D&I Research |
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January 2020 |
Co-Production of Evidence to Promote Healthy Weights |
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February 2020 |
Part III of a mini-series focused on Innovative Methods in D&I Research |
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March 2020 |
Part III of a mini-series focused on Innovative Methods in D&I Research |
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April 2020 |
"Service contracting as a bridging factor in implementation |
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June 2020 |
"Under the Hood of Organizations Driving the Dissemination of |
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July 2020 |
"Improving EBP Training to Increase Access to Care for Veterans with TBI" |
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September 2020 |
"Using the EPIS Framework for Criminal Justice System Change" |
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October 2020 |
"Applying the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) Framework to Testing Strategies for Scaling Evidence-Based Mental Health Interventions in Fragile and Low-Resource Settings: An Example from Sierra Leone" |
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December 2020 |
"Authentic Community Engagement: Tools and Challenges" |
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January 2021 |
"Engaged Approaches to Capacity-building For Community-based Implementers" Email disc@health.ucsd.edu to request presentation materials. |
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February 2021 |
"Ad-Hoc Adaptations Made During Delivery of a Family Therapy Intervention in Eldoret, Kenya" |
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March 2021 |
"DISC Member and PhD Candidate in Special Education at Indiana University, will present on his F31 proposal." |
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April 2021 |
"Novel Community Engagement Methods: Insights from COVID-19 Implementation Research." |
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May 2021 |
"Order Whatever You Want, as Long as It's from the Menu? Preliminary Results and Reflections on Adapting and Implementing Collaborative Decision Skills Training for Veterans with Psychosis" |
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June 2021 |
"Precision Health: Integrating Systems Science, Optimization Methods, and Implementation Science for Advancing a Community-Centered Learning Population Health Approach" |
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July 2021 |
"Solution-focused research can achieve its goals more rapidly by progressing through the 3 stages of create, trial, and sustain" |
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August 2021 |
"The FRAME-IS: a framework for documenting modifications to implementation strategies in healthcare" |
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October 2021 |
Lindsey Wade & David Mier |
"San Diego Community Health Needs Assessment – Opportunities for Engagement & Collaboration" |
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November 2021 |
"Global Mental Health and Implementation Science: Perspectives and Opportunities in Ukraine" |
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December 2021 |
"Methods of Stakeholders Engagement" |
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February 2022 |
"Rapid Cycle Improvement Science Methods to Improve Teacher Training" |
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March 2022 |
"Cost Effectiveness Analysis in D&I Science" |
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September 2022 | Thomas Engell | "Hunting for effective pragmatism and implementability in child welfare and youth mental health" | Slides |
October 2022 | UC San Deigo IN STEP Center | Introduction to UC San Deigo IN STEP Center | |
November 2022 | Elizabeth Weybright and Samantha Harden | "Navigating the National Cooperative Extension System: A Missing link for community health or just missing the boat?" | Recording |
January 2023 | Petra Dannapfel | "Challenges and Opportunities in Swedish Healthcare and Implementation" | Recording |
February 2023 | Bonnie Kaiser and Monique Hennink | "Using Saturation to Estimate Qualitative Sample Sizes" | Slides |
March 2023 | Katy Trinkley | "Learning Health Systems (LHS) as the North Star" | Recording |
April 2023 | Erika Crable | "Where is Policy in D&I Science? Recommendations for Theories, Models, and Frameworks" | Recording |
May 2023 | Elizabeth McGuier | "Implementation Science and the Science of Teams" | Recording |
September 2023 | David Sommerfeld & Kate McDonald | "Utilizing enhanced data-sharing tools to promote community engagement with research: Expanding expectations and capacity for dissemination" | |
October 2023 | Allison Jobin, Melina Melgarejo, and Henry Joel Crumé | IN STEP Pilot Awardees: 6-Month Presentations | |
November 2023 | Jonathan Helm |
Multilevel Mediation Analysis for Implementation Science |
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December 2023 | Douglas Luke |
Translational Science Benefits Model |
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January 2024 | Clare Viglione |
Expanding D&I Capacity Locally and Globally |
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February 2024 | Katherine Pickard |
Using causative qualitative methods to delineate factors driving the use of evidence-based practices among systems using independent contracting |
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March 2024 | Nate Williams, PhD, LCSW; Aubyn Stahmer, PhD; & Lauren Brookman-Frazee, PhD |
Using & Adapting the Leadership & Organizational Change for Implementation (LOCI) strategy across two hybrid implementation trials in children's services |
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April 2024 | Maria Antoniak, PhD, MA |
Natural Language Processing (NLP) for Maternal Healthcare: Perspectives and Guiding Principles in the Age of Large Language Models (LLMs) |
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May 2024 | Jessica Haughton, MPH, MA |
Assessing Context to Improve Implementation of Community Health Worker Interventions |
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June 2024 | Gila Neta, PhD, MPP & Sallie Weaver, PhD, MHS |
Delivering Optimal Cancer Care for All: The science of teams, healthcare delivery, & implementation at NCI |
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September 2024 | Rebecca Lengnick-Hall, PhD & Greg Aarons, PhD |
Eight characteristics of rigorous multilevel implementation research: a step-by-step guide |
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October 2024 | Laramie Smith, PhD |
A data-driven approach to implementing the HPTN 094 complex intervention INTEGRA in local communities |
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November 2024 | Michael Rosen, PhD | Thinking differently about measuring teams: Unobtrusive methods for implementation science | |
December 2024 | Rosemina Bazeghi, MPH, Hetsi Modi, MA & Isaac Bouchard, BS | DISC D&I Research Intern Showcase | |
January 2025 | Elizabeth Weybright, PhD & Samantha M Harden, PhD | Dissemination and Implementation Science within the Cooperative Extension System | |
February 2025 | Elizabeth McGuier, PhD | Team functioning and Implementation of Innovations in Healthcare and Human Service Settings |
To request DISC Consultations, please complete the Consultation Request Form. The form will ask questions about you and your D&I project. It will take approximately 5 minutes to complete. The information that you share will be reviewed by the DISC Consultation team on a rolling basis. Please note that the DISC Consultation Team requires 7-10 business days to review and respond to consultation requests. Please review the Triage for Grant-related and Manuscript requests below for more detailed information about timeline and allowable requests. Consultations are not a guarantee for the consultant being able to serve as a Co-Investigator on the grant proposal. As part of our consultation services we provide resources, initial guidance for models, measures, and designs and we can make recommendations to connect you with others who could serve as Co-Investigators on your proposal, if needed.
You must also be a current DISC Member to request DISC Consultation. To become a member, please click here.
Prepare for your DISC Consultation: Recommendations to maximize your consultation time
The DISC Consultation Team will triage requests and tailor services depending on lead-in time and the nature of the requests.
Consultation Process Timeline | ||
Process Steps | Timeline | Example |
DISC Member/Investigator submits Consultation Request | 10-15 minutes to complete |
Examples of Appropriate Consultation Requests:
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Initial Consultation Meeting | Scheduled 2-4 weeks from initial request |
Potential outcomes from initial consultation:
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Complete DISC Consultation Impact and Outcomes Survey | 6 months from initial consultation meeting |
Asks about:
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Dr. Gregory Aarons is a clinical and organizational psychologist, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego (UCSD), a faculty member in the UCSD/SDSU Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, Co-Director of the UCSD Dissemination and Implementation Science Center (DISC), and Director of the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center (CASRC). |
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Dr. Crable is a Postdoctoral Scholar and health services researcher. Her research focuses on improving the use of evidence in policymaking, and testing implementation strategies to promote access to evidence-based substance use treatment, mental health services, HIV prevention and treatment services for safety-net and justice-involved populations. She is also a fellow in the NIMH/NIDA-funded Implementation Research Institute and in the NIDA-funded Lifespan/Brown University Criminal Justice Research Training Program. |
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Dr. Brookman-Frazee is a Professor in the UC San Diego Department of Psychiatry, Director of Education and Training for the DISC, Associate Director of the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center, and Co-Director of the SDSU/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology. Her research involves partnering with community leaders, therapists, and families to develop, test, and implement scalable psychosocial interventions in children’s mental health and developmental services. |
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Dr. Jessica Montoya’s research has focused on the development, implementation, and evaluation of mobile health interventions to promote health behaviors (e.g., medication adherence and physical activity). She is also interested in understanding the neurologic impact of comorbidities, including cardiovascular disease and addictions, among individuals aging with HIV. |
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Dr. James Pittman earned his Master of Social Work degree from Portland State University, and his PhD in Social Work from Smith College School. He serves as the Associate Director for CESAMH's Education and Dissemination Unit and the Director for CESAMH's eScreening Core. He is the Lead Mental Health Social Worker and Section Chief for La Jolla Outpatient Mental Health Programs for the VA San Diego Healthcare System. Dr. Pittman is also an HS Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. |
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Dr. Borsika Rabin is an Associate Professor at the UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, the Co-Director of the UC San Diego Dissemination and Implementation Science Center (DISC), and an Implementation Science (IS) expert on a number of large NIH and VA Center grants and research projects including the VA San Diego Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health and the Quadruple Aim QUERI Program (Denver VA). |
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Dr. Nicole Stadnick is an Assistant Professor and licensed psychologist at the University of California, San Diego. Her research aims to examine the effectiveness and implementation of evidence-based practices for children with mental health and developmental concerns served in community-based settings. |
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DISC offers a graduate course annually in the Fall on D&I science co-taught by three members of the Executive Leadership Team, Dissemination and Implementation Science in Health: An Introduction (PH 289R). This course focuses on disseminating and scaling up health interventions in real-world settings. Interactive didactic sessions and guest lectures on implementation of research principles, approaches and methods. Will design a proposal to implement or scale-up a clinical or public health intervention. View Fall 2024 DISH Course Flyer here.
Dr. Borsika Rabin and Dr. Lauren Brookman-Frazee are currently teaching undergraduate Dissemination and Implementation, Policy and Health Services in Mental Health (FMPH 428). This course will use Dissemination and Implementation Science to address the gap between promising research results for mental health and their successful translation into improved individual, community and population health.
DISC currently offers undergraduate internships for course credit through the UC San Diego Family Medicine and Public Health Department (Course Number: FMPH199 and FMPH 198). Email DISC for application instructions.
Read the full internship description.
Olivia Fang
Olivia Fang is currently a part of UCSD Extension's Post Baccalaureate Pre-Health Program. She is an alumni of UC Berkeley where she majored in Psychology and minored in Creative Writing. She is interested in psychiatry and wants to learn about the interdisciplinary nature of D&I research and how such research can guide and improve the implementation of interventions in healthcare.
Laura Sheckter
Laura Sheckter is a first-year MPH student concentrating in Health Behavior and Health Policy. She hopes to learn how to help populations improve their overall well-being during her time at UCSD. More specifically, Laura is interested in learning about the process of writing D&I research and gaining the tools to apply that research through experiential learning.
The Translational Science Benefits Model is used as the framework to guide work done at ACTRI and to assist our researchers in indentifying potential and demonstrated benefits from their work that have a real-world impact.
The Translational Science Benefits Model is intended to provide benchmarks to assess the impact of research that applies scientific findings to enhance public health and well-being.
The model identifies benefits of clinical and translational research in four areas:
Clinical and Medical Benefits (Procedures & guidelines, Tools & products)
Community and Public Health Benefits (Health activities & products, Health care characteristics, Health promotion)
Economic Benefits (Commercial products, Financial savings & benefits)
Policy and Legislative Benefits (Advisory activities, Policies & legislation)
One of the ways ACTRI disseminates key information from their research projects is through the ACTRI TSBM profiles. These profiles act as a snapshot to easily share relevant findings and resources in an easy to digest format.
Check out the ACTRI TSBM Profiles here
If you are interested in creating your own TSBM profile, submit a DISC consultation request to learn more!
Submit DISC Consultation Request
The CTSA Compendium of D&I Catalogs provides a curated list of resource catalogs
relevant to the conduct of Dissemination & Implementation (D&I) science. The resource
catalogs gathered here include frameworks/theories/models, methods/measures, funding resources, practice resources, training, and health equity resources. Included resource catalogs are curated/sponsored by academic and non-profit organizations with expertise in D&I; contain multiple resources that are systematically organized; and are (in almost all cases) both open-access and actively maintained/updated.
How to use the D&I Catalogs tool: Use the Sort and Filter functions below to view resources in categories of interest, or to view “featured resources.” Use this D&I Resource Suggestion Form to suggest a new catalog for inclusion.
This resource was developed by the Clinical & Translational Science Awards (CTSA)
Program’s “Advancing Dissemination and Implementation Sciences in CTSAs” working
group. This group focuses on meeting both the conceptual as well as practical challenges to advancing the utilization of D&I across the translational science spectrum. In particular, this group focuses on the “how” of D&I integration within CTSA hubs nationally, and on creating and disseminating practical tools, resources, and insights that CTSAs can use to fully realize the potential of D&I to enhance CTSAs’ mission.
Existing grant review criteria do not consider unique methods and priorities of Dissemination and Implementation Science (DIS). The ImplemeNtation and Improvement Science Proposals Evaluation CriTeria (INSPECT) scoring system includes 10 criteria based on Proctor et al.'s "ten key ingredients" and was developed to support the assessment of DIS research proposals. The DISC uses the INSPECT criteria in combinaiton with the NIH scoring system to evaluate pilot DIS study proposals through the DISC.
Learn more about the INSPECT scoring system here!
Stadnick, N.A., Viglione, C., Crable, E.L. et al. Enhancing review criteria for dissemination and implementation science grants. Implement Sci Commun 4, 17 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-023-00399-2
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