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Review
. 2022 Mar 1;17(2):89-99.
doi: 10.1097/COH.0000000000000726.

Moving toward equity: fostering transdisciplinary research between the social and behavioral sciences and implementation science to end the HIV epidemic

Maria Pyra  1   2 , Darnell Motley  1 , Alida Bouris  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Moving toward equity: fostering transdisciplinary research between the social and behavioral sciences and implementation science to end the HIV epidemic

Maria Pyra et al. Curr Opin HIV AIDS. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, social and behavioral scientists have developed interventions to stem the spread of the virus. The dissemination of these interventions has traditionally been a lengthy process; however, implementation science (IS) offers a route toward hastening delivery of effective interventions. A transdisciplinary approach, wherein IS informs and is informed by social and behavioral sciences (SBS) as well as community participation, offers a strategy for more efficiently moving toward health equity and ending the HIV epidemic.

Recent findings: There has been considerable growth in HIV research utilizing IS theories, methods and frameworks. Many of these studies have been multi or interdisciplinary in nature, demonstrating the ways that IS and SBS can strengthen one another. We also find areas for continued progress toward transdisciplinarity.

Summary: We review literature from 2020 to 2021, exploring the ways IS and SBS have been used in tandem to develop, evaluate and disseminate HIV interventions. We highlight the interplay between disciplines and make a case for moving toward transdisciplinarity, which would yield new, integrated frameworks that can improve prevention and treatment efforts, moving us closer to achieving health equity.

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References

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    1. Davey JDL, de Villiers L, Evens E. Importance of rigorous implementation science studies to scale-up evidence-based interventions to end the HIV epidemic in the United States. AIDS 2021; 35:335–336.
    1. Schwartz SR, Smith JD, Hoffmann C, et al. Implementing implementation research: teaching implementation research to HIV researchers. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep 2021; 18:186–197.
    1. Shangani S, Bhaskar N, Richmond N, et al. A systematic review of early adoption of implementation science for HIV prevention or treatment in the United States. AIDS 2021; 35:177–191.
    1. Smith JD, Li DH, Hirschhorn LR, et al. Landscape of HIV implementation research funded by the National Institutes of Health: a mapping review of project abstracts. AIDS Behav 2020; 24:1903–1911.

MeSH terms