Table 1 Summary of recent reviews of implementation of interventions addressing health equity and social determinants of health
From: Implementation science should give higher priority to health equity
First author Focus of study | Year of publication | Type of review | Selected findings |
|---|---|---|---|
Pinto [55] PrEP implementation in the USA | 2018 | Narrative review | Implementation is not often addressing key barriers: • Within healthcare systems, the lack of communication about, funding for, and access to PrEP • The lack of attention to the intersection between PrEP-stigma, HIV-stigma, transphobia, homophobia, and disparities across gender, racial, and ethnic groups |
Yapa [56] Implementation in resource-poor countries and communities | 2018 | Narrative review | Among existing implementation science in resource-poor countries and communities, three key opportunities were identified: • Intervention and methods innovations may thrive under constraints due to higher creativity when choices are restricted • Reverse innovation transferring novel approaches from resource-poor to research-rich settings will gain in importance • Policy makers in resource-poor countries tend to be open for close collaboration with scientists to inform national and local policy |
Alonge [57] Implementation in low- and middle-income countries | 2019 | Systematic review | • Most of the studies were not conducted under routine conditions for management and financing • Most studies do not describe implementation characteristics completely; more complete descriptions are needed on implementation strategies, implementation variables, and the context under which implementation occurs • More rigorous and adaptive research designs are needed to address how to scale-up and sustain interventions |
Harding [58] Implementation in Indigenous communities | 2019 | Systematic review | Among studies of indigenous communities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the USA, four implementation themes were common: • Studies showed high levels of community engagement • From the culture-centered approach, most studies reflected moderate to high levels of community voice/agency • Most studies addressed systems thinking • Approximately 40% of studies included high levels of end user (e.g., policy makers, tribal leaders) engagement reflective of integrated knowledge translation |
Wali [59] Community engagement in Indigenous populations | 2021 | Scoping review | • Key themes included adapting for the local cultural context and the inclusion of community outreach • Despite the claimed use of participatory research methods, only 6 studies involved community members to identify the area of priority and only 5 used Indigenous interviewing to provide feedback |