# Translating Research Into Practice: A Regional Collaborative to Reduce Disparities in Breast Cancer Care

> **NIH NIH U01** · BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · $1,691,973

## Abstract

Project Summary
The transfer and application of scientific evidence into everyday practice is necessary to mitigate health
disparities, yet roadblocks persist in broad implementation of evidence-based interventions among vulnerable
communities experiencing disparities. The Boston Breast Cancer Equity Coalition was formed in 2014 in
response to persistent city-wide disparities in breast cancer mortality among minority, low-income women. The
Coalition identified three evidence-based strategies known to reduce delays in care that have yet to be
deployed into clinical practice, due to a lack of implementation strategies (T3-T4 implementation translation).
Translating Research into Practice (TRIP) draws upon the principles of community-engaged dissemination
and implementation science to systematically facilitate deployment and utilization of: (a) regional patient
registries; (b) systematic screening for social barriers to care with a personalized referral plan; and (c) patient
navigation services into one integrated model of care to improve the quality and effectiveness of care delivery,
in this case for minority and/or low-income women with breast cancer. The four Massachusetts CTSA hubs
(Boston University, Harvard University, Tufts University, and University of Massachusetts) partnered with the
Boston Breast Cancer Equity Coalition to overcome barriers to widespread implementation and dissemination
of evidence based practices that will improve the delivery of guideline-concordant care to vulnerable women.
The study will be conducted in three phases: First, we will deploy regional CTSA expertise to support the local
healthcare community to develop the three individual TRIP components, create the study data repository, and
refine and integrate the intervention components into a cohesive package that can be implemented within the
context of the clinical work flow of the partnering sites. Then, we will conduct a type 1 hybrid effectiveness-
implementation study among 1,100 vulnerable breast cancer patients seeking care across six health systems
in Boston. We will evaluate the healthcare system’s ability to implement these three generalizable tools (fidelity
to intervention protocol, costs, local adoption/sustainability, and acceptability) into an integrated intervention
and the impact on clinical outcomes (time to first treatment and receipt of guideline concordant cancer care).
Finally, we will promote widespread dissemination to other CTSA hubs, health systems, and community-
academic partnerships. Our main hypothesis is that widespread implementation of these tools will eliminate
care delivery disparities, and CTSA hubs have the translational expertise to overcome barriers to such
implementation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10176190
- **Project number:** 5U01TR002070-05
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Tracy Ann Battaglia
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,691,973
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10176190

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10176190, Translating Research Into Practice: A Regional Collaborative to Reduce Disparities in Breast Cancer Care (5U01TR002070-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10176190. Licensed CC0.

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