From first intention to first patient to first visit, Implementation science approaches are critical for converging on feasible, real-world public health solutions. But how exactly do you implement implementation science? Visiting DGHI scholar Jeremiah Laktabai, Steve Taylor and Wendy O’Meara have been collaborating on implementation science strategies to tackle malaria diagnosis for nearly a decade. In this panel discussion, they will take us behind the scenes and talk about the secret sauce of conducting real world field studies in collaboration with communities and programmatic stakeholders, including all the groundwork that precedes enrolling the first patient. 

Lunch will be provided for those who RSVP, please RSVP by 4/5.

SPEAKERS

Jeremiah Laktabai, MD, is a faculty member and the current chair, department of family medicine, community health and medical education. He joined Moi University in 2011 after working in different government district hospitals.  He is also the deputy executive director in charge of the AMPATH population health program which seeks to deliver population health with universal health insurance in the informal sector within a catchment population of 1 million. This involves community-based livelihood enhancement interventions, health systems strengthening and care integration from the community to the tertiary care centers, and community based social health insurance. His research interests are in primary care, focusing on infections and chronic diseases. He has a long-standing research collaboration with DGHI members (Drs Wendy and Taylor) in malaria implementation research and in women health. 

Wendy Prudhomme O’Meara’s, Ph.D, main areas of research expertise are malaria and implementation science. She is an Associate Professor at Duke University Medical School in the Divisio n of Infectious Diseases, visiting professor at Moi University, and the Co-Field Director of Research for AMPATH. She has been based full-time in Kenya since 2007. Dr. O'Meara has experience in marrying innovative spatial techniques with epidemiologic outcomes. Recent work includes an analysis of health systems factors that contribute to early childhood mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Steve Taylor, MD MPH, is an infectious diseases clinician and is transitioning to independence as a laboratory-based investigator in translational studies of falciparum malaria in children and pregnant women. He contributes to DGHI's educational mission by delivering seminars, contributing to courses, and mentoring MScGH students interested in clinical or laboratory studies of malaria. From a research perspective, he anticipates designing projects with DGHI field partners in Eldoret, Kenya and enhancing nascent research efforts in Kigali, Rwanda. Finally, he maintains active collaborations with investigators working in more than a dozen African countries and hope to enhance their connections with Duke. He hopes to use malaria research as a tool to enhance educational and research products of Duke and investigators in malaria-endemic areas.