AcademyHealth's Delivery System Science Fellowship: Training Embedded Researchers to Design, Implement, and Evaluate New Models of Care

Abstract

AcademyHealth's Delivery System Science Fellowship (DSSF) provides a paid postdoctoral pragmatic learning experience to build capacity within learning healthcare systems to conduct research in applied settings. The fellowship provides hands-on training and professional leadership opportunities for researchers. Since its inception in 2012, the program has grown rapidly, with 16 health systems participating in the DSSF to date. In addition to specific projects conducted within health systems (and numerous publications associated with those initiatives), the DSSF has made several broader contributions to the field, including defining delivery system science, identifying a set of training objectives for researchers working in delivery systems, and developing a national collaborative network of care delivery organizations, operational leaders, and trainees. The DSSF is one promising approach to support higher-value care by promoting continuous learning and improvement in health systems.

Training for Health System Improvement: Emerging Lessons from Canadian and US Approaches to Embedded Fellowships

“…Based on this work and the expressed needs of delivery systems, the Delivery System Science Fellowship (DSSF) was launched in 2012. Background for the program and examples of fellow experiences are described in detail by Kanani et al (2017).…”

“…Given the diversity of organizations involved in the HSI Fellowship program and differences in these organizations' previous experience with and capacity for research, additional guidance regarding research processes and outputs, strategies for dual health system and academic mentorship and models of successful partnerships with universities could be beneficial. It has been recognized in both Canada and the US that the work environments in health system organizations differ from the university settings in which doctoral students are currently trained and that the skill set required to contribute to and lead transformative change within these organizations differs from those emphasized in most doctoral programs (Bornstein et al 2018;Hamelin and Paradis 2018;Kanani et al 2017;Paradis et al 2017;Reid 2016;Tamblyn et al 2016b) and from those currently prioritized and rewarded within academic institutions (Hunter 2019;Marshall et al 2016). Many PhD graduates have extensive academic training but lack experience working in other settings.…”

How to Work Collaboratively Within the Health System: Workshop Summary and Facilitator Reflection

“…17 Similarly, in the United States, Academy Health developed the Delivery System Science Fellowship to provide experiential learning and professional development opportunities for postdoctoral trainees. 18 While such programs have the potential to enhance trainees' collaboration skills, it is important not to rely solely on optional training opportunities, and to ensure that rigorous evaluation enables assessment of the extent to which both health system personnel and trainees find these placements useful. If we are to achieve the many benefits of research collaboration, learning how to be an effective research partner cannot be treated simply as an optional "add on" only to be pursued by researchers and trainees with an interest in the topic.…”

Funding the Training of Future Health Services Researchers

“…Fellows have a wide range of backgrounds, including epidemiology, exercise physiology, health psychology, anthropology, clinical medicine, qualitative methods, organizational behavior, and systems engineering (Kanani et al. ).…”

“…Twenty-one have completed the fellowship and four are current fellows. Fellows have a wide range of backgrounds, including epidemiology, exercise physiology, health Future Health Services Researchers psychology, anthropology, clinical medicine, qualitative methods, organizational behavior, and systems engineering (Kanani et al 2017).…”