ImSci Lab
About Us
Despite heavy investment in behavioral cardiovascular disease research, disparities persist. It still takes more than a decade to go from discovery to practice and many posit it is even longer for historically marginalized populations.
In July 2019, Dr. Nathalie Moise and colleagues at the Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health (CBCH) launched the ImSci lab to address the fact that few implementation efforts are at the intersection of chronic physical and mental illness.
ImSci lab
works with policymakers, healthcare systems, researchers, and patients to implement and sustain evidence-based practices at the intersection of mental and cardiovascular health.
Our mission
is to confront disparities head-on, using implementation science, human-centered design, and behavioral science.
Our qualitative team
identifies contextual factors, barriers and facilitators to implementing and sustaining behavioral cardiovascular interventions.
Our design team
uses cutting edge user-centered design principles to create clinician- and patient-facing digital behavioral health interventions.
Our evaluation team
works at understanding the mechanisms by which interventions do or do not work in healthcare, community, and policy settings.
What is Implementation Science?
The study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of research findings and other evidence-based practices into healthcare practice and policy, and thereby improve the quality and effectiveness of health services. The ImSci lab leverages implementation science methods to advance cardiovascular disease equity.
Our Goals
Our overarching goal is to leverage implementation science methods to advance cardiovascular disease equity.
(1) To involve patients, providers and healthcare systems in the design, implementation, and dissemination of behavioral health interventions
(2) To create sustained behavioral change and improvements in chronic health outcomes
(3) To create theory-informed, scalable digital health interventions that target the intersection of mental and cardiovascular health
Our Expertise and Services
Our Center brings together interdisciplinary experts in qualitative research methods, implementation science, marketing/user-centered design, behavioral science and advanced statistics. Our services include:
Qualitative Research Support
- Design interview guides
- Analyze qualitative data
- Conduct focus groups, interviews, and other qualitative studies
- Lead qualitative methods workshops
Identifying Implementation science Theories, Models, and Frameworks (TMF)
- Efficacy/Pilot/Feasibility Studies
- Hybrid I, II, III effectiveness implementation studies
- Sustainability studies
Implementation Strategy Development and Design
- Theory informed intervention development
- User-centered design
Mixed Methods Evaluation
- Study Design (e.g., cluster randomized control trials, stepped-wedge designs)
- Cost effectiveness analyses (i.e., from the perspective of healthcare systems and payors)
- Operationalizing multi-level (patient, provider, and healthcare system) data collection