Work

Can We Accelerate the Pipeline?: Lessons From Hears on Social Design and Entrepreneurship in Intervention Research

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: With an average time lag of 17 years between intervention development and translation into practice, the traditional intervention research pipeline is inadequate. Beyond intervention research, numerous industries increasingly recognize the importance of user-centered design and the need to consider scale and sustainability early and repeatedly. HEARS, a community-delivered, affordable, accessible hearing care intervention for older adults with hearing loss, provides an example of how social design and social entrepreneurship can be integrated into the ongoing study of a behavioral intervention in an attempt to accelerate the pipeline. Beginning with intervention development, the Baltimore HEARS study incorporates a social designer within the research team to co-create training manuals, recruitment materials, and program aids. Continuing the design process, the social designer observes materials in use to inform further iterations to enhance implementation and remains an active study team member. In parallel with the Baltimore HEARS study, the principal investigators established a nonprofit social enterprise to deliver the intervention in a real-world context and test its sustainability and scalability. Our experiences thus far with integrated social design and a start-up social enterprise, alongside a multi-site community-based randomized controlled trial, inform the intervention research pipeline and provide insights into the challenges and opportunities for investigators seeking to accelerate the pipeline with the ultimate goal of lasting impact.

Source: Innovation in Aging

DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igy023.2725