The NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory is pleased to announce the addition of 2 new Core Working Groups that will be focused on implementation science and health equity.

The Implementation Science Core will provide technical support and pragmatic trial expertise for NIH Collaboratory Trials with a specific focus on innovative dissemination and implementation science approaches. The Core will study methods and strategies to promote the uptake of interventions that have proven effective in routine practice, with the aim of improving population health.

The Implementation Science Core will be co-led by Devon Check and Hayden Bosworth. Devon Check, PhD, is a health services and implementation researcher and Assistant Professor, in the Department of Population Health Sciences at Duke University. Hayden Bosworth, PhD, is a health services and implementation researcher and Deputy Director for the Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care at the Durham VA Medical Center as well as Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences and Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry, and Nursing at Duke University Medical Center. Jill George, CCRA, of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, will serve as the project manager for the Implementation Science Core in the Coordinating Center.

The Health Equity Core will provide leadership and guidance that will help the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory, its trials and investigators be more equitable in research. The Core’s work includes supporting pragmatic trials to address social and structural drivers of inequities, implement patient and community engagement strategies, promote the inclusion and mentorship of historically underrepresented scientists, and develop culturally and contextually aligned research and translation strategies that overcome bias and resonate with patients and communities.

The Health Equity Core will be led by Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda, PhD, MPH, RN, CPH, FAAN, an Associate Professor of Nursing at Duke University, Faculty Lead for the Population Health Research Area of Excellence at Duke’s Center for Nursing Research, and co-director of the Community Engagement Core for Duke Clinical Translational Science Institute. Alex Fist, MPH, of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, will serve as the project manager for the Health Equity Core in the Coordinating Center.

“By launching these 2 new Core Working Groups, the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory is reaffirming its commitment to generating knowledge that supports equitable pragmatic research to improve healthcare for all,” said Dr. Adrian Hernandez, co-principal investigator of the NIH Pragmatic Trials Coordinating Center. “Through their work in the areas of implementation science and health equity, the new Cores can help uncover how best to implement improved clinical practices so the benefits reach at-risk and traditionally underserved populations.”