Engaging Partners in Dissemination and Implementation Work Group
The overall mission of the Engaging Partners in Dissemination and Implementation Work Group (EPDI WG) is to establish and nurture respectful and productive partnerships among Veterans, Military Service Members, their dependents, pragmatic clinical trial (PCT) research teams, health systems—including clinicians, clinical leaders and executive leadership—and policy makers. These partnerships will optimize the validity and relevance of the studies and their findings and are essential to successful dissemination and implementation of study interventions when positive results encourage such activities.
Chair or Co-Chairs:
Lori Bastian, MD, MPH
Consultant:
Steven Cohen, MD
Project Manager:
Lily Katsovich, MS, MBA
Work Group Goals
- Strengthen and Enhance Partnerships: Build respectful and productive partnerships and collaborations among Principal Investigators (PIs), healthcare teams, health system leaders, Veterans, and active Military Service Members to enhance the validity and relevance of research findings. Equip PIs with training and resources to cultivate strong relationships that maximize partner contributions.
- Facilitate Collaborative Engagement: Involve diverse partner groups in discussions to inform and guide research projects, creating a platform for sharing insights and co- developing evidence-based strategies for pragmatic clinical trials (PCTs)
- Identify and Overcome Barriers: Identify and promote best practices to address organizational, clinician, and patient-level barriers to access, engagement, and sustained participation in PCTs.
- Advance and Optimize Dissemination Efforts: Support the development of comprehensive dissemination plans focused on equity and justice, ensuring that research findings are effectively communicated to various partners.
- Evaluate and Inform Implementation: Evaluate each project’s stage of implementation and provide guidance on effective implementation methodologies relevant to PCTs.
- Create structured forums for partners to bring their perspectives and expertise, enabling the co-development of comprehensive, evidence-based approaches to research.
Work Group Chair – Qualifications and Experience
Lori Bastian, M.D., M.P.H. is Associate Chief of Staff for Research and a Hospitalist at VACHS and Professor of Internal Medicine at Yale University. She has an extensive background as a general internist and health services and behavioral medicine investigator in VA, including specific focused interests in pain and comorbidities, women veterans’ health, and the conduct of multi-site effectiveness trials. She also oversees the management of a national network of over 80 VA, DoD and NIH pain investigators who share interests in improving pain care for veterans and military service members that meets monthly via teleconference.
Work Group Consultant – Qualifications and Experience
Steve P. Cohen, M.D. is Professor of Anesthesiology, Neurology, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Psychiatry and Neurological Surgery, and Vice Chair of Pain Medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Professor and Director of the Pain Management Focus Area of the CRSR, and Director of Pain Research at WRNMMC. Dr. Cohen is widely recognized as a leading researcher in the area of pain medicine, with specific expertise in the conduct of efficacy and comparative- effectiveness trials evaluating common pain medicine procedures for spinal pain and pain after trauma.
