Articles

Decision-making process for introduction of maternal vaccines in Kenya, 2017–2018

Maternal immunization is a key strategy for reducing morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases in mothers and their newborns. Recent developments in the science and safety of maternal vaccina...

Authors: Nancy A. Otieno, Fauzia A. Malik, Stacy W. Nganga, Winnie N. Wairimu, Dominic O. Ouma, Godfrey M. Bigogo, Sandra S. Chaves, Jennifer R. Verani, Marc-Alain Widdowson, Andrew D. Wilson, Irina Bergenfeld, Ines Gonzalez-Casanova and Saad B. Omer

A stepped wedge cluster randomized control trial to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of optimized initiatives in improving quality of care for ST segment elevation myocardial infarction in response to the COVID-19 outbreak

The National Chest Pain Center Accreditation Program (CHANGE) is the first hospital-based, multifaceted, nationwide quality improvement (QI) initiative, to monitor and improve the quality of the ST segment ele...

Authors: Shuduo Zhou, Xuejie Dong, Fangjing Liu, Yan Zhang, Dahai Yue, Qiang Zhou, Yinzi Jin and Zhi-Jie Zheng

Using organization theory to position middle-level managers as agents of evidence-based practice implementation

Middle-level managers (MLMs; i.e., healthcare professionals who may fill roles including obtaining and diffusing information, adapting information and the intervention, mediating between strategy and day-to-da...

Authors: Sarah A. Birken and Graeme Currie

The FRAME-IS: a framework for documenting modifications to implementation strategies in healthcare

Implementation strategies are necessary to ensure that evidence-based practices are successfully incorporated into routine clinical practice. Such strategies, however, are frequently modified to fit local popu...

Authors: Christopher J. Miller, Miya L. Barnett, Ana A. Baumann, Cassidy A. Gutner and Shannon Wiltsey-Stirman

A step toward understanding the mechanism of action of audit and feedback: a qualitative study of implementation strategies

Audit and feedback (A&F) is a widely used implementation strategy. Understanding mechanisms of action of A&F increases the likelihood that the strategy will lead to implementation of an evidence-based practice...

Authors: Mellanie V. Springer, Anne E. Sales, Nishat Islam, A. Camille McBride, Zach Landis-Lewis, Michael Tupper, Casey L. Corches, Maria Cielito Robles and Lesli E. Skolarus

Forms and functions of bridging factors: specifying the dynamic links between outer and inner contexts during implementation and sustainment

Bridging factors are relational ties, formal arrangements, and processes that connect outer system and inner organizational contexts. They may be critical drivers of evidence-based practice (EBP) implementatio...

Authors: Rebecca Lengnick-Hall, Nicole A. Stadnick, Kelsey S. Dickson, Joanna C. Moullin and Gregory A. Aarons

Does coaching matter? Examining the impact of specific practice facilitation strategies on implementation of quality improvement interventions in the Healthy Hearts in the Heartland study

Practice facilitation is a multicomponent implementation strategy used to improve the capacity for practices to address care quality and implementation gaps. We sought to assess whether practice facilitators u...

Authors: Theresa L. Walunas, Jiancheng Ye, Jennifer Bannon, Ann Wang, Abel N. Kho, Justin D. Smith and Nicholas Soulakis

Audit and feedback with or without training in-practice targeting antibiotic prescribing (TiPTAP): a study protocol of a cluster randomised trial in dental primary care

Antimicrobial resistance is an increasingly serious threat to global public health and patient safety. Overuse of antibiotics has aggravated this issue. Around 7% of all antibiotics in Scotland are prescribed ...

Authors: Beatriz Goulao, Claire Scott, Irene Black, Jan Clarkson, Lee McArthur, Craig Ramsay, Linda Young and Eilidh Duncan

Protocol for a quasi-experimental, 950 county study examining implementation outcomes and mechanisms of Stepping Up, a national policy effort to improve mental health and substance use services for justice-involved individuals

The criminal justice system is the largest provider of mental health services in the USA. Many jurisdictions are interested in reducing the use of the justice system for mental health problems. The national St...

Authors: Jennifer E. Johnson, Jill Viglione, Niloofar Ramezani, Alison E. Cuellar, Maji Hailemariam, Rochelle Rosen, Alex Breno and Faye S. Taxman

The effectiveness of generic emails versus a remote knowledge broker to integrate mood management into a smoking cessation programme in team-based primary care: a cluster randomised trial

Knowledge brokering is a knowledge translation approach that has been gaining popularity in Canada although the effectiveness is unknown. This study evaluated the effectiveness of generalised, exclusively emai...

Authors: Nadia Minian, Sheleza Ahad, Anna Ivanova, Scott Veldhuizen, Laurie Zawertailo, Arun Ravindran, Claire de Oliveira, Dolly Baliunas, Carol Mulder, Corneliu Bolbocean and Peter Selby

A cluster randomized stepped-wedge trial to de-implement unnecessary post-operative antibiotics in children: the optimizing perioperative antibiotic in children (OPerAtiC) trial

Antibiotic-resistant infections have become a public health crisis that is driven by the inappropriate use of antibiotics. In the USA, antibiotic stewardship programs (ASP) have been established and are requir...

Authors: Sara Malone, Virginia R. McKay, Christina Krucylak, Byron J. Powell, Jingxia Liu, Cindy Terrill, Jacqueline M. Saito, Shawn J. Rangel and Jason G. Newland

Implementation science should give higher priority to health equity

There is growing urgency to tackle issues of equity and justice in the USA and worldwide. Health equity, a framing that moves away from a deficit mindset of what society is doing poorly (disparities) to one th...

Authors: Ross C. Brownson, Shiriki K. Kumanyika, Matthew W. Kreuter and Debra Haire-Joshu

Correction to: Incentivizing appropriate malaria case management in the private sector: a study protocol for two linked cluster randomized controlled trials to evaluate provider- and client-focused interventions in western Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Authors: Aaron M. Woolsey, Ryan A. Simmons, Meley Woldeghebriel, Yunji Zhou, Oluwatosin Ogunsola, Sarah Laing, Tayo Olaleye, Joseph Kipkoech, Bomar Mendez Rojas, Indrani Saran, Mercy Odhiambo, Josephine Malinga, George Ambani, Emmah Kimachas, Chizoba Fashanu, Owens Wiwa…

Cost analysis in implementation studies of evidence-based practices for mental health and substance use disorders: a systematic review

This study is a systematic literature review of cost analyses conducted within implementation studies on behavioral health services. Cost analysis of implementing evidence-based practices (EBP) has become impo...

Authors: Diana M. Bowser, Brandy F. Henry and Kathryn E. McCollister

A cluster randomized controlled trial comparing Virtual Learning Collaborative and Technical Assistance strategies to implement an early palliative care program for patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers: a study protocol

Virtual Learning Collaboratives (VLC), learning communities focused on a common purpose, are used frequently in healthcare settings to implement best practices. Yet, there is limited research testing the effec...

Authors: Lisa Zubkoff, Kathleen Doyle Lyons, J. Nicholas Dionne-Odom, Gregory Hagley, Maria Pisu, Andres Azuero, Marie Flannery, Richard Taylor, Elizabeth Carpenter-Song, Supriya Mohile and Marie Anne Bakitas

The decision sampling framework: a methodological approach to investigate evidence use in policy and programmatic innovation

Calls have been made for greater application of the decision sciences to investigate and improve use of research evidence in mental health policy and practice. This article proposes a novel method, “decision s...

Authors: Thomas I. Mackie, Ana J. Schaefer, Justeen K. Hyde, Laurel K. Leslie, Emily A. Bosk, Brittany Fishman and R. Christopher Sheldrick

Care to Quit: a stepped wedge cluster randomised controlled trial to implement best practice smoking cessation care in cancer centres

Cigarette smoking in people with cancer is associated with negative treatment-related outcomes including increased treatment toxicity and complications, medication side effects, decreased performance status an...

Authors: Christine L. Paul, Graham Warren, Shalini Vinod, Bettina Meiser, Emily Stone, Daniel Barker, Kate White, James McLennan, Fiona Day, Kristen McCarter, Melissa McEnallay, Jordan Tait, Karen Canfell, Marianne Weber and Catherine Segan

A systematic review of evidence-based practice implementation in drug and alcohol settings: applying the consolidated framework for implementation research framework

There is a paucity of translational research programmes to improve implementation of evidence-based care in drug and alcohol settings. This systematic review aimed to provide a synthesis and evaluation of the ...

Authors: Eva Louie, Emma L. Barrett, Andrew Baillie, Paul Haber and Kirsten C. Morley

A myriad of factors influencing the implementation of transitional care innovations: a scoping review

Care transitions of older persons between multiple care settings are frequently hampered by various issues such as discontinuous care delivery or poor information transfer among healthcare providers. Therefore...

Authors: Amal Fakha, Lindsay Groenvynck, Bram de Boer, Theo van Achterberg, Jan Hamers and Hilde Verbeek

Changing behaviour, ‘more or less’: do implementation and de-implementation interventions include different behaviour change techniques?

Decreasing ineffective or harmful healthcare practices (de-implementation) may require different approaches than those used to promote uptake of effective practices (implementation). Few psychological theories...

Authors: Andrea M. Patey, Jeremy M. Grimshaw and Jill J. Francis

Unpacking the intention to action gap: a qualitative study understanding how physicians engage with audit and feedback

Audit and feedback (A&F) often successfully enhances health professionals’ intentions to improve quality of care but does not consistently lead to practice changes. Recipients often cite data credibility and l...

Authors: Laura Desveaux, Noah Michael Ivers, Kim Devotta, Noor Ramji, Karen Weyman and Tara Kiran

Understanding the implementation of evidence-informed policies and practices from a policy perspective: a critical interpretive synthesis

The fields of implementation science and knowledge translation have evolved somewhat independently from the field of policy implementation research, despite calls for better integration. As a result, implement...

Authors: Heather L. Bullock, John N. Lavis, Michael G. Wilson, Gillian Mulvale and Ashleigh Miatello

A micro costing analysis of the development of a primary care intervention to improve the uptake of diabetic retinopathy screening

The application of economic analysis within implementation science is still developing and the cost of intervention development, which differs markedly from the costs of initial implementation and maintenance,...

Authors: Susan Ahern, Fiona Riordan, Aileen Murphy, John Browne, Patricia M. Kearney, Susan M. Smith and Sheena M. McHugh

Implementation science in maternity care: a scoping review

Despite wide recognition that clinical care should be informed by the best available evidence, this does not always occur. Despite a myriad of theories, models and frameworks to promote evidence-based populati...

Authors: Ann Dadich, Annika Piper and Dominiek Coates

Implementation of clinical practice changes in the PICU: a qualitative study using and refining the iPARIHS framework

Like in many settings, implementation of evidence-based practices often fall short in pediatric intensive care units (PICU). Very few prior studies have applied implementation science frameworks to understand ...

Authors: Katherine M. Steffen, Laura M. Holdsworth, Mackenzie A. Ford, Grace M. Lee, Steven M. Asch and Enola K. Proctor

Incentivizing appropriate malaria case management in the private sector: a study protocol for two linked cluster randomized controlled trials to evaluate provider- and client-focused interventions in western Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria

A large proportion of artemisinin-combination therapy (ACT) anti-malarial medicines is consumed by individuals that do not have malaria. The over-consumption of ACTs is largely driven by retail sales in high m...

Authors: Aaron M. Woolsey, Ryan A. Simmons, Meley Woldeghebriel, Yunji Zhou, Oluwatosin Ogunsola, Sarah Laing, Tayo Olaleye, Joseph Kipkoech, Bomar Mendez Rojas, Indrani Saran, Mercy Odhiambo, Josephine Malinga, George Ambani, Emmah Kimachas, Chizoba Fashanu, Owens Wiwa…

Determinants of using children’s mental health research in policymaking: variation by type of research use and phase of policy process

Research use in policymaking is multi-faceted and has been the focus of extensive study. However, virtually no quantitative studies have examined whether the determinants of research use vary according to the ...

Authors: Jonathan Purtle, Katherine L. Nelson, Sarah Mc Cue Horwitz, Mary M. McKay and Kimberly E. Hoagwood

Context-acceptability theories: example of family planning interventions in five African countries

Family planning (FP) can lengthen birth intervals and potentially reduce the risk of foetal death, low birthweight, prematurity, and being small for gestational age. Effective FP is most easily achieved throug...

Authors: Jayne Webster, Shari Krishnaratne, Jenna Hoyt, Shiferaw Dechasa Demissie, Nathaly Spilotros, Justine Landegger, Misozi Kambanje, Shannon Pryor, Easterlina Moseti, Seth Marcus, Marius Gnintoungbe, Dora Curry and Jessie K. Hamon

Correction to: Coincidence analysis: a new method for causal inference in implementation science

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Authors: Rebecca Garr Whitaker, Nina Sperber, Michael Baumgartner, Alrik Thiem, Deborah Cragun, Laura Damschroder, Edward J. Miech, Alecia Slade and Sarah Birken

The reporting checklist for public versions of guidelines: RIGHT-PVG

Public or patient versions of guidelines (PVGs) are derivative documents that “translate” recommendations and their rationale from clinical guidelines for health professionals into a more easily understandable...

Authors: Xiaoqin Wang, Yaolong Chen, Elie A. Akl, Ružica Tokalić, Ana Marušić, Amir Qaseem, Yngve Falck-Ytter, Myeong Soo Lee, Madelin Siedler, Sarah L. Barber, Mingming Zhang, Edwin S. Y. Chan, Janne Estill, Joey S. W. Kwong, Akiko Okumura, Qi Zhou…

Rationale and design of the Novel Uses of adaptive Designs to Guide provider Engagement in Electronic Health Records (NUDGE-EHR) pragmatic adaptive randomized trial: a trial protocol

The prescribing of high-risk medications to older adults remains extremely common and results in potentially avoidable health consequences. Efforts to reduce prescribing have had limited success, in part becau...

Authors: Julie C. Lauffenburger, Thomas Isaac, Lorenzo Trippa, Punam Keller, Ted Robertson, Robert J. Glynn, Thomas D. Sequist, Dae H. Kim, Constance P. Fontanet, Edward W. B. Castonguay, Nancy Haff, Renee A. Barlev, Mufaddal Mahesri, Chandrashekar Gopalakrishnan and Niteesh K. Choudhry

How effective are social norms interventions in changing the clinical behaviours of healthcare workers? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Healthcare workers perform clinical behaviours which impact on patient diagnoses, care, treatment and recovery. Some methods of supporting healthcare workers in changing their behaviour make use of social norm...

Authors: Mei Yee Tang, Sarah Rhodes, Rachael Powell, Laura McGowan, Elizabeth Howarth, Benjamin Brown and Sarah Cotterill

Designing provider-focused implementation trials with purpose and intent: introducing the PRECIS-2-PS tool

First articulated by Schwartz and Lellouch (1967), randomized controlled trials (RCTs) can be conceptualized along a continuum from more explanatory to more pragmatic. The purpose and intent of the former is t...

Authors: Wynne E. Norton, Kirsty Loudon, David A. Chambers and Merrick Zwarenstein

Factors influencing the implementation of screening and brief interventions for alcohol use in primary care practices: a systematic review using the COM-B system and Theoretical Domains Framework

Alcohol is a leading risk factor contributing to the global burden of disease. Several national and international agencies recommend that screening and brief interventions (SBI) should be routinely delivered i...

Authors: Frederico Rosário, Maria Inês Santos, Kathryn Angus, Leo Pas, Cristina Ribeiro and Niamh Fitzgerald

A facilitation model for implementing quality improvement practices to enhance outpatient substance use disorder treatment outcomes: a stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial study protocol

The misuse of and addiction to opioids is a national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare. There is an urgent need for strategies to improve opioid use disorder treatment qu...

Authors: Megan A. O’Grady, Patricia Lincourt, Belinda Greenfield, Marc W. Manseau, Shazia Hussain, Kamala Greene Genece and Charles J. Neighbors

Effect of collaborative quality improvement on stillbirths, neonatal mortality and newborn care practices in hospitals of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, India: evidence from a quasi-experimental mixed-methods study

Improving quality of care is a key priority to reduce neonatal mortality and stillbirths. The Safe Care, Saving Lives programme aimed to improve care in newborn care units and labour wards of 60 public and pri...

Authors: Karen Zamboni, Samiksha Singh, Mukta Tyagi, Zelee Hill, Claudia Hanson and Joanna Schellenberg

Protocol for a hybrid type 2 cluster randomized trial of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy and a pragmatic individual-level implementation strategy

More than two-thirds of youth experience trauma during childhood, and up to 1 in 5 of these youth develops posttraumatic stress symptoms that significantly impair their functioning. Although trauma-focused cog...

Authors: Aaron R. Lyon, Michael D. Pullmann, Shannon Dorsey, Carol Levin, Larissa M. Gaias, Stephanie K. Brewer, Madeline Larson, Catherine M. Corbin, Chayna Davis, Ian Muse, Mahima Joshi, Rosemary Reyes, Nathaniel J. Jungbluth, Rachel Barrett, David Hong, Michael D. Gomez…

Protocol: mixed-methods study of how implementation of US state medical cannabis laws affects treatment of chronic non-cancer pain and adverse opioid outcomes

Thirty-three US states and Washington, D.C., have enacted medical cannabis laws allowing patients with chronic non-cancer pain to use cannabis, when recommended by a physician, to manage their condition. Howev...

Authors: Emma E. McGinty, Kayla N. Tormohlen, Colleen L. Barry, Mark C. Bicket, Lainie Rutkow and Elizabeth A. Stuart

Economic evaluation of a web-based menu planning intervention to improve childcare service adherence with dietary guidelines

Despite the known benefits of healthy eating in childhood, few Australian childcare services provide food that is consistent with dietary guidelines. The effectiveness of a web-based menu planning intervention...

Authors: Penny Reeves, Kim Edmunds, Zoe Szewczyk, Alice Grady, Sze Lin Yoong, Luke Wolfenden, Rebecca Wyse, Meghan Finch, Fiona Stacey, John Wiggers and Andrew Searles

Proceedings of the Virtual 3^rd UK Implementation Science Research Conference

Authors: Noura Bawab, Joanna C. Moullin, Olivier Bugnon, Clémence Perraudin, April Morrow, Priscilla Chan, Emily Hogden, Natalie Taylor, Mark Pearson, Daniele Carrieri, Karen Mattick, Chrysanthi Papoutsi, Simon Briscoe, Geoff Wong, Mark Jackson, Alita Rushton…

Cost-effectiveness of the Adaptive Implementation of Effective Programs Trial (ADEPT): approaches to adopting implementation strategies

Theory-based methods to support the uptake of evidence-based practices (EBPs) are critical to improving mental health outcomes. Implementation strategy costs can be substantial, and few have been rigorously ev...

Authors: Andria B. Eisman, David W. Hutton, Lisa A. Prosser, Shawna N. Smith and Amy M. Kilbourne

Coincidence analysis: a new method for causal inference in implementation science

Implementation of multifaceted interventions typically involves many diverse elements working together in interrelated ways, including intervention components, implementation strategies, and features of local ...

Authors: Rebecca Garr Whitaker, Nina Sperber, Michael Baumgartner, Alrik Thiem, Deborah Cragun, Laura Damschroder, Edward J. Miech, Alecia Slade and Sarah Birken

Impact of a tuberculosis treatment adherence intervention versus usual care on treatment completion rates: results of a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial

With the global shortage of skilled health workers estimated at 7.2 million, outpatient tuberculosis (TB) care is commonly task-shifted to lay health workers (LHWs) in many low- and middle-income countries whe...

Authors: Lisa M. Puchalski Ritchie, Monique van Lettow, Austine Makwakwa, Ester C. Kip, Sharon E. Straus, Harry Kawonga, Jemila S. Hamid, Gerald Lebovic, Kevin E. Thorpe, Merrick Zwarenstein, Michael J. Schull, Adrienne K. Chan, Alexandra Martiniuk and Vanessa van Schoor

Barriers and facilitators of implementation of a community cardiovascular disease prevention programme in Mukono and Buikwe districts in Uganda using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research

In low- and middle-income countries, there is an increasing attention towards community approaches to deal with the growing burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, few studies have explored the implem...

Authors: Rawlance Ndejjo, Rhoda K. Wanyenze, Fred Nuwaha, Hilde Bastiaens and Geofrey Musinguzi

Advancing clinical leadership to improve the implementation of evidence-based practice in surgery: a longitudinal mixed-method study protocol

Clinical leadership is fundamental in facilitating service improvements in healthcare. Few studies have attempted to understand or model the different approaches to leadership which are used when promoting the...

Authors: Amy Grove, Aileen Clarke, Graeme Currie, Andy Metcalfe, Catherine Pope and Kate Seers

Integrating implementation science in clinical research to maximize public health impact: a call for the reporting and alignment of implementation strategy use with implementation outcomes in clinical research

Although comprehensive reporting guidelines for implementation strategy use within implementation research exist, they are rarely used by clinical (i.e., efficacy and effectiveness) researchers. In this debate...

Authors: Brittany N. Rudd, Molly Davis and Rinad S. Beidas

Improving case detection of tuberculosis in hospitalised Kenyan children—employing the behaviour change wheel to aid intervention design and implementation

The true burden of tuberculosis in children remains unknown, but approximately 65% go undetected each year. Guidelines for tuberculosis clinical decision-making are in place in Kenya, and the National Tubercul...

Authors: Jacquie Narotso Oliwa, Jacinta Nzinga, Enos Masini, Michaël Boele van Hensbroek, Caroline Jones, Mike English and Anja van’t Hoog

Factors affecting the use of clinical practice guidelines by hospital physicians: the interplay of IT infrastructure and physician attitudes

Compliance with clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) remains insufficient around the world, despite frequent updates and continuing efforts to disseminate and implement these guidelines through a variety of str...

Authors: Noriko Sasaki, Naohito Yamaguchi, Akiko Okumura, Masahiro Yoshida, Hiroyuki Sugawara, Jung-ho Shin, Susumu Kunisawa and Yuichi Imanaka

Clinical decision support improves the appropriateness of laboratory test ordering in primary care without increasing diagnostic error: the ELMO cluster randomized trial

Inappropriate laboratory test ordering poses an important burden for healthcare. Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) have been cited as promising tools to improve laboratory test ordering behavior. The ob...

Authors: Nicolas Delvaux, Veerle Piessens, Tine De Burghgraeve, Pavlos Mamouris, Bert Vaes, Robert Vander Stichele, Hanne Cloetens, Josse Thomas, Dirk Ramaekers, An De Sutter and Bert Aertgeerts

Effectiveness of interventions to improve rates of intravenous thrombolysis using behaviour change wheel functions: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Despite being one of the few evidence-based treatments for acute ischemic stroke, intravenous thrombolysis has low implementation rates—mainly due to a narrow therapeutic window and the health system changes r...

Authors: Md Golam Hasnain, John R. Attia, Shahinoor Akter, Tabassum Rahman, Alix Hall, Isobel J. Hubbard, Christopher R. Levi and Christine L. Paul