Interventions and evidence-based practices that are poorly implemented β or not implemented at all β do not produce expected health benefits. Implementation science is the scientific study of methods and strategies that facilitate the uptake of evidence-based practice and research into regular use by practitioners and policymakers. The field of implementation science seeks to systematically close the gap between what we know and what we do often referred to as the know-do gap by identifying and addressing the barriers that slow or halt the uptake of proven health interventions and evidence-based practices.
As an emerging field, there are many different ways people and agencies have defined implementation science. Some definitions focus on closing the gap between what we know research and what we do practice. Others emphasize creating solutions that can be easily adjusted to work well in different places. A non-exhaustive list of definitions includes:. The Implementation Science Program in the UW Department of Global Health sees the fundamental question of implementation science as: How do we get "what works" to the people who need it, with greater speed, fidelity, efficiency, quality, and relevant coverage?
This inclusive stance values the systematic application of research methods from a range of diverse disciplines that are seen as critical for understanding the process, context, and outcomes of implementation, with an end goal of enabling scale-up and population-level benefits.
The UW Department of Global Health Implementation Science Program embraces thirteen research methods common to implementation science ranging from randomized controlled-trials, to hybrid effectiveness-implementation trials, to economic evaluation, to ethnography. Visit Select Research Methods to learn more.
Implementation research starts with evidence-based interventions and practices. These could be programs, practices, principles, products, pills, or policies. We call these the 7 Ps. A key distinction in implementation science exists between the implementation strategy and the intervention or evidence-based practice one of the 7 Ps being implemented.
