Mapping the Landscape of Dissemination and Implementation Science Across the CTSA Consortium: A Multi-Domain Environmental Website Scan
Despite substantial investment in clinical and translational research, only a small proportion of evidence-based interventions are adopted and sustained in routine practice, contributing to persistent delays between discovery and population benefit.Dissemination and implementation (D&I) science is a critical discipline for addressing this gap, and the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program (established 2006) has been strategically positioned as a national infrastructure to advance D&I capacity.We conducted a national environmental scan of publicly available websites and documents from all 66 CTSA hubs (May-July 2025), using a structured extraction tool to capture D&I specific activities across seven domains: institution and community partnerships, formal D&I organizational structures within the CTSA, consultation services, collaborative programming, training opportunities, educational offerings, and pilot funding mechanisms.Findings reveal substantial heterogeneity in D&I science activities across CTSA hubs; 38% had a formal D&I unit, 54% offered D&I consultation services, and 37% provided collaborative programming.Structured workforce development was limited: 12% offered D&I-focused training grants, 15% offered structured educational programs, and 15% provided D&I-specific pilot funding.Consultation models varied widely in scope, access, and evaluation practices.These findings demonstrate uneven development of D&I science infrastructure across CTSAs and highlight opportunities to strengthen capacity nationally.
Authors
- Lisa Zubkoff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0728-2237)
- Heffron Renee
- Larry Hearld
- Peter Katzmarzyk
- Kirsten Dorans
- Salisa Westrick
- Bertha Hidalgo
- Abigail Gamble
- Katherine Mills
- Naomi Duffort
- Michael Mugavero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6916-6701)
- Jing Li
- Kristine Ria Hearld
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical and Translational Science
- Published
- 2026-05-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1017/cts.2026.10760
- Primary Topic
- Scientific Computing and Data Management
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Auburn University
- Tulane University
- Louisiana State University
- University of South Alabama
- Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science Center
- University of Cambridge
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
- National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities