Type 2 Translational Research
SPR MAPS II Type 2 Translational Research: Overview and Definitions
Mapping Advances in Prevention Science (MAPS) are multidisciplinary task forces funded by the SPR conference grant from the National Institutes of Health. They serve the purpose of carrying momentum from exchanges on cutting-edge subfields of prevention science at the annual conference over to scientific activity between conferences, in order to advance them more rapidly. They are designed to: (1) foster promising, emerging areas of prevention science warranting greater concentration of scientific energy; (2) articulate an agenda to move research forward in such emerging areas; and (3) nurture the scientific leadership and capacity required to make the advances. The first MAPS (I) focuses on biological factors in prevention and the second MAPS (II) addresses Type 2 translational research.
The first product of the SPR MAPS II Type 2 Translational Research task force is the Type 2 Translational Research: Overview and Definitions Document. The definitions document, which has been approved by the SPR board of directors, was distributed to the SPR 2008 Annual Meeting attendees.
Type 2 Translational Research: Overview and Definitions (PDF)
SPR MAPS II Type 2 Translational Research: Position Statement, A Call for Bold Action to Support Prevention Programs and Policies To Achieve Greater Public Health and Economic Impact
A primary purpose of the SPR MAPS (Mapping Advances in Prevention Science) is to foster the emerging area of Type 2 translational research, in part through advocacy for necessary policy change. A prior paper produced by the MAPS Type 2 Translational Research Task Force (Overview and Definitions PDF) has articulated how this type of research is critically important to the realization of the enhanced public health and economic impact. The recent National Academies of Science report on prevention programs for youth underscores this point, referencing imbalances in resource allocation, misplaced policy priorities, and the benefits of health and social policy better informed by prevention science. SPR is well-positioned to assure these benefits are realized and that evidence-based prevention reaches those it could help. For these reasons, our MAPS Task Force has produced a position statement calling for four “bold actions” to achieve greater public health and economic impact through Type 2 translational research. We believe it is especially timely in the context of the current economic downturn and health care reform efforts.
Type 2 Translational Research: Addressing Core Challenges for the Next Generation of Type 2 Translation Research and Systems: The Translation Science to Population Impact (TSci Impact) Framework, Richard Spoth, Louise A. Rohrbach, Mark Greenberg, Philip Leaf, C. Hendricks Brown, Abigail Fagan, Richard F. Catalano, et al. is now available at Prevention Science ONLINE FIRST. For the full article, click here.
Evidence-based preventive interventions developed over the past two decades represent great potential for enhancing public health and well-being. Research confirming the limited extent to which these interventions have been broadly and effectively implemented, however, indicates much progress is needed to achieve population-level impact. In part, progress requires Type 2 translation research that investigates the complex processes and systems through which evidence-based interventions are adopted, implemented, and sustained on a large scale, with a strong orientation toward devising empirically-driven strategies for increasing their population impact. “Addressing Core Challenges for the Next Generation of Type
2 Translation Research and Systems: The Translation Science to Population Impact (TSci Impact) Framework” (read full article)
Braided Funding
A Case for Braided Prevention Research and Service Funding was developed by an SPR task force chaired by David Olds. This document makes a strong case for the need for effectiveness trials and dissemination research to further the advances of prevention science. Further, it explains why and how collaborative funding across institutes that fund research and agencies that provide funding for preventive services could advance both knowledge regarding effective preventive interventions and the provision of evidence based preventive services at a broader scale.
A Case for Braided Prevention Research and Service Funding (click here for full document)