Implementation Science: Approaches to Integrating Research into Practice and Policy

Overview:

This is a 90-minute recording of a live lecture.

Each year, billions of U.S. tax dollars are spent on research and hundreds of billions are spent on service delivery programs. However, relatively little is spent on, or known about, how best to ensure that the lessons learned from research inform and improve the quality of health and human services and the availability and utilization of evidence-based approaches. In the context of increased interest and investment in comparative effectiveness research that will help to determine the optimal and/or most cost-effective interventions to be used in clinical and community healthcare practice, it is essential that both clinical and public health practitioners are equipped with empirically-supported strategies to integrate scientific knowledge and effective interventions into everyday use. The National Institutes of Health have recognized that closing the gap between research discovery and program delivery is both a complex challenge and an absolute necessity if we are to ensure that all populations benefit from the Nation’s investments in new scientific discoveries. This lecture will focus on approaches to moving research into public health practice and policy. With an understanding of the importance of implementation science, challenges for improving efficient and meaningful translation will be discussed and dissemination and implementation frameworks will be highlighted along with examples and useful tools for both researchers and public health practitioners.