Research Design Expert to Present Preliminary Findings at National Dissemination and Implementation Conference

Kelli Komro, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor in the Department of Health Outcomes and Policy, will be speaking about reducing health disparities in underserved communities at the National Institutes of Health and AcademyHealth’s conference on Dec. 9. The seventh annual conference, entitled The Science of Dissemination and Implementation: Transforming Health Systems to Optimize Individual and Population Health, will take place in Bethesda, Md., and includes health care policymakers, employers, providers, and patients from around the nation.

“Dissemination and implementation science is about figuring out the best ways to get evidence-based treatment and prevention into widespread practice to ultimately improve health outcomes for all,” said Komro, who also serves as the associate director of the Institute for Child Health Policy. “It is an honor to have the opportunity to share our findings with such a wide range of health professionals and researchers who are dedicated to reducing health disparities.”

Komro will discuss preliminary results of her five-year, NIH-funded study, which aims to reduce underage alcohol use in rural Oklahoma in partnership with the Cherokee Nation. Specifically, she will touch on their collaborative efforts to implement and evaluate a new, integrated community-level intervention designed to prevent underage drinking and the associated negative consequences among Native American and other youth living in rural, high-risk communities.

The two-day conference is designed to facilitate discussion about the latest thinking in dissemination and implementation of research findings among clinical care, public health, and management science leaders.

Read more information about Komro’s recent work, here under Recent News, or read more about the conference here.