Cancer, Public Health, and Society
Research for Implementation Team (RFI)

Starting date: February 2024

Work Programme

Understanding how to apply evidence to change practice in health care and other sectors is crucial to improve the population’s health. This often means studying how interventions that work in trials and pilots can be transferred to real-life settings and scaled up. The Research for Implementation Team (RFI) was formed with the vision of closing the gap between the science and public health decision-making through the systematic application of scientific principles applied to the entire process of implementing interventions. This involves integrating scientific methods, theories, and principles to ensure that implementation efforts are rigorous, effective, and informed by the best available evidence.

RFI’s goal aligns with IARC’s vision, mission, and priorities by focusing on implementation aspects of research related to advancing global cancer prevention, control, and surveillance. RFI adds significant value to IARC’s mission by ensuring that research outcomes are effectively implemented in real-world settings and translated into effective health policies, addressing key priorities outlined by IARC.

RFI focuses on four key areas: Research, Innovation in implementation, Training and education, and Evidence to inform policy (RITE), to strengthen research for implementation and practice at IARC and through its networks. This approach will not only generate valuable knowledge but also actively translate it into actionable policies that will significantly improve public health outcomes.

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Research:

• Leveraging the collective expertise of IARC researchers and their networks to synthesize knowledge and inform more practice-relevant implementation research and policy-making by identifying synergies and fostering effective collaborations.

Innovation in implementation:

• Collaborating with partner organizations to support innovative methods and approaches to implementation and dissemination and health systems research assessment, drawing upon continuing IARC efforts and fostering novel perspectives.

Training and education:

• Empowering IARC researchers and their networks in cancer implementation and dissemination research through tailored capacity-building initiatives and networks, including mentoring and incorporating research for implementation modules into existing and new training programmes.
• Facilitating the development of research for implementation and dissemination projects by establishing a knowledge hub of tools, strategies, and interventions that promote the integration of science and implementation into policy-making and health-care systems.
• Fostering a shared interest in research for implementation and dissemination among researchers and practitioners through joint activities and networks.

Evidence to inform policy:

• Supporting health systems and policy-making to identify context-adapted, evidence-based interventions as the cornerstone to inform and shape policy decisions, fostering effective strategies that strengthen health care and promote sustainable improvements in public health outcomes.

The overall aim of RFI is to:

• systematically synthesize and curate the existing and emerging insights generated by IARC and its collaborators on research for implementation,
• transforming them into coherent learning points that can be readily used by various stakeholders in decision-making processes,
• aligned with the context and objectives of implementation and dissemination in cancer surveillance and prevention.

Team Composition
RFI comprises a multidisciplinary group of scientists and experts from both research and practice backgrounds, encompassing both IARC and its network. RFI is structured into two levels of membership:

• Core team: a group of dedicated members who are responsible for the overall coordination, strategic direction, and day-to-day operations of RFI.
• Expert network: a broader network of experts drawn from IARC’s network will be invited when the need arises, providing specialized expertise and insights across various domains of research for implementation.

Team Leaders: Dr Andre Carvalho and Dr Arunah Chandran, Early Detection, Prevention, and Infections Branch (EPR), IARC
Emails: CarvalhoA@iarc.who.int; ChandranA@iarc.who.int

Team members:
Ms Anouk Berger (Branch Head, LCB)
Dr Ariana Znaor (Scientist, CSU)
Dr Carolina Espina (Scientist, ENV)
Mr Clément Chauvet (Strategic Engagement and Resource Mobilization Officer, Director’s Office)
Dr Iacopo Baussano (Scientist, EPR)
Dr Isabel Mosquera (Scientist, EPR)
Dr Joachim Schüz (Branch Head, ENV)
Dr Partha Basu (Branch Head, EPR)

Key networks

• Accelerating Gastric Cancer Reduction in Europe through Helicobacter pylori Eradication (EUROHELICAN) project
• Access Cancer Care India (ACCI)
• Action plan for prevention and early detection of digestive cancers in Uzbekistan
• Comprehensive Cancer Infrastructures for the European Union (CCI4EU)
• Dissemination research through m-health (pilot and feasibility studies in Spain and Colombia; BUMPER project in the European Union)
• Implementation of the Regional Codes Against Cancer (4P-CAN and ECAC5 projects in Europe; pilot studies in Latin America)
• Improving Cancer Care Coordination and Screening in Latvia and Slovakia (ICCCS) project
• Improving cancer screening, surveillance, and communication in the Gulf Region, a collaboration between IARC and the Gulf Center for Disease Prevention and Control (RESET – Gulf)
• Integrated Mission of Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (imPACT Reviews)
• Joint Action on Cancer Screening (EUCanScreen)
• Prostate Cancer Awareness and Initiative for Screening in the European Union (PRAISE-U) Consortium
• Self-Collected HPV Evaluation for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer (SHE-CAN)
• Towards Gastric Cancer Screening Implementation in the European Union (TOGAS) project
• Working collaboratively with vulnerable women to identify the best implementation gains by screening cervical cancer more effectively in European countries (CBIG-SCREEN)

Key funding: AmigoH Brasil, European Commission (DG REFORM, EU4Health, EU Horizon 2020), Gulf Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Islamic Bank for Development, Medical Research Council Australia/Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD), Medical Research Council United Kingdom/Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD)

Key publications

1. Van Poppel H, Roobol MJ, Chandran A (2023). Early detection of prostate cancer in the European Union: combining forces with PRAISE-U. Eur Urol. 84(6):519–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eururo.2023.08.002 PMID:37704541
2. Beyer K, Leenen R, Venderbos LDF, Helleman J, Denijs F, Bramer W, et al.; on behalf of the PRAISE-U Consortium (2024). Health policy for prostate cancer early detection in the European Union and the impact of opportunistic screening: PRAISE-U Consortium. J Pers Med. 14(1):84. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm14010084 PMID:38248785
3. Gómez Rivas J, Leenen RCA, Venderbos LDF, Helleman J, de la Parra I, Vasilyeva V, et al.; on behalf of the PRAISE-U Consortium (2023). Navigating through the controversies and emerging paradigms in early detection of prostate cancer: bridging the gap from classic RCTs to modern population-based pilot programs. J Pers Med. 13(12):1677. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm13121677 PMID:38138904
4. Oommen AM, Basu P, Cherian AG, Zomawia E, Manoharan R, Pricilla RA, et al.; SHE-CAN collaborators (2023). Protocol for the formative phase of a trial (SHE-CAN) to test co-designed implementation strategies for HPV-based cervical screening among vulnerable women in two diverse settings in India. Implement Sci Commun. 4(1):62. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-023-00436-0 PMID:37291627
5. Mallafré-Larrosa M, Ritchie D, Papi G, Mosquera I, Mensah K, Lucas E, et al.; CBIG-SCREEN Consortium (2023). Survey of current policies towards widening cervical screening coverage among vulnerable women in 22 European countries. Eur J Public Health. 33(3):502–8. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckad055 PMID:37043751