Introduction: Dissemination and implementation (D&I) research, crucial in translating evidence into practice, is yet to be included as a separate study design category for ethical consideration. Researchers are asking relevant questions about how current ethical standards can be applied to D&I trials. The responsible conduct of D&I research requires an adaptation of existing bioethical frameworks that reflect D&I’s unique study designs, intervention targets, and corresponding risks. We aim to conduct a scoping review to explore the availability, breadth, and consistency of published literature on the responsible conduct of dissemination and implementation research to generate an evidence synthesis report.
Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from February 2006 to July 2023 for relevant literature and managed them with Covidence. The search used a combination of standardized terms and keywords including bioethics, ethics, research standards, responsible research, health services research and implementation.
Results: We have screened 794 article abstracts and are currently conducting 153 full-text reviews. Some emerging themes from our findings include barriers and challenges to the ethical integration of interventions to health settings, and ethical frameworks for specific domains of D&I research. The literature also includes important discussions about ethical board reviews of quality improvement studies and the ethics of implementing health systems interventions in LMICs. Upon completion of the literature review, we will conduct a concept mapping of all the emerging themes.
Impact: Our work has the potential to affect Policy TSBM benefits, by generating scientific research reports and developing consensus standards. Moreover, we argue that the community and public health benefits of implementing interventions through a D&I tailored ethical lens, cannot be understated. Our project is the first step in a roadmap to develop a framework using a Delphi approach for assessing the responsible conduct of D&I research.
Organization: Washington University in St. Louis
Anidi NF, Aboagye-Mensah G, Doering M, Antes A, Powell BJ, Huffman MD, Tetteh EK