Understanding imprementation research

  1. See: Massive open online course (MOOC) on implementation research. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2017 (https://tdr.who.int/home/our-work/strengthening-research-capacity/massive-open-online-course-(mooc)-on-implementation-research, accessed 19 October 2017).
  2. IR problems include issue surrounding access to an intervention, uptake of a policy, delivery mechanisms, diffusion of a strategy in the health system etc.
  3. Peters D.H. et al. Implementation research: what it is and how to do it. British Medical Journal. BMJ. 2014; 347:f6753.
  4. ‘Outcome’ is defined as the effect of deliberate and purposive actions to implement new treatments, practices and/or services, or the effect of adopting innovative strategies to reach populations with efficacious tools.
  5. Proctor E. et al. Outcomes for implementation research: Conceptual distinctions, measurement challenges, and research agenda. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. 2011; 38(2):65–76.
  6. Institute of Medicine (IOM). Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st Century. Washington DC: National Academy Press; 2001.
  7. Implementation research in health: a practical guide. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014 (http://www.who.int/alliance-hpsr/resources/implementationresearchguide/en/, accessed 16 October 2017).
  8. Fixsen D. L. et al. Implementation research: A synthesis of the literature (FMHI Publication #231). Tampa: University of South Florida/Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute/The National Implementation Research Network; 2005.
  9. De Savigny D. and Kuepfer I. Phase IV studies. In: Field trials of health interventions: A toolbox. 3rd Edition. Eds. Smith P.G., Morrow R.H., Ross D.A. (Chapter 22). Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2015.
  10. Thailand Millennium Development Goals Report 2009. Bangkok: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); 2009 (http://www.th.undp.org/content/thailand/en/home/library/mdg/ThaiMDGRpt09.html, accessed 16 October 2017).
  11. Patcharanarumol W. et al. Why and how did Thailand achieve good health at low cost? In: Good health at low cost. Balabanova D., McKee M. and Mills A. (eds). Good health at low cost? 25 years on. What makes a successful health system? Chapter 7. London: The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; 2011.
  12. Designing and conducting health systems research projects (Volume 2). Geneva: World Health Organisation/International Development Research Centre; 1993.
  13. Omorodion F.I. (1993). The socio-cultural context of health behaviour among Esan communities, Edo State, Nigeria. Health Transition Review. 1993; 3(2):125–136.
  14. Lessons learned in home management of malaria: Implementation research in four African countries. Geneva: World Health Organization/The Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases; 2007.
  15. Rao, K.D. et al. An implementation research approach to evaluating health insurance programs: insights from India. International Journal of Health Policy and Management. 2016; 5.5:295.
  16. Varvasovszky Z. and Brugha R. A stakeholder analysis. Health policy and planning. 2000; 15.3:338–345.
  17. Brugha, R. and Varvasovszky Z. Stakeholder analysis: a review. Health policy and planning 15.3: 239-246.
  18. Hyder A. et al. Stakeholder analysis for health research: case studies from low-and middle-income countries. Public health. 2010; 124.3:159–166.
  19. Bedregal P. and Ewan F. Evidence based primary care? A multi-tier, multiple stakeholder perspective from Chile. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management. 2001; 16(1): 47–60.
  20. Impoinvil D.E. et al. Comparison of mosquito control programs in seven urban sites in Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. Health Policy 2007; 83.2:196–212.
  21. Adapted from: Corlien V.M., Pathmanathan I. and Brownlee A.T. Designing and conducting health systems research projects (Volume 2). Ottawa: International Development Resource Centre; 1993.
  22. Craig, P. et al. Developing and evaluating complex interventions: the new Medical Research Council guidance. Bmj. 2008; 337:a1655.
  23. Rogers P.J. Using programme theory for complicated and complex programmes. Evaluation. 2008; 14.1: 29-48.
  24. Leykum L.K., et al. Organizational interventions employing principles of complexity science have improved outcomes for patients with Type II diabetes. Implementation Science. 2007; 2(1):1.
  25. Adapted from: Paina, L.A. Understanding pathways for scaling up health services through the lens of complex adaptive systems. Health Policy and Planning. 2012; 27(5):365–373.
  26. Principles of community engagement (1st ed.). Atlanta: CDC/ATSDR Committee on Community Engagement, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention; 1997.
  27. Punch, M. (1994). Politics and ethics in qualitative research. In: Handbook of qualitative research. Denzin N.K. and Lincoln Y.S. (Eds). London: Sage Publishing; 2017.
  28. Hutton J.L., Eccles M.P. and Grimshaw J.M. Ethical issues in implementation research: A discussion of the problems in achieving informed consent. Implementation Science. 2008; 3(1): 1.
  29. Stuart R., Muula A.S. and Westreich D. Male circumcision and HIV prevention: ethical, medical and public health trade-offs in low-income countries. Journal of Medical Ethics. 2007; 33(6):357–361.
  30. Doherty T. et al. Improving the coverage of the PMTCT programme through a participatory quality improvement intervention in South Africa. BMC Public Health. 2009; 9(1):1.

Additional reading

Bhattacharyya, Onil, Scott Reeves, and Merrick Zwarenstein. “What is implementation research? Rationale, concepts, and practices.” Research on Social Work Practice 19.5 (2009): 491-502.

Edwards, Nancy, and Pierre M. Barker. “The importance of context in implementation research.” J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 67.Suppl 2 (2014): S157-162.

Goodman, Catherine, William Brieger, Alasdair Unwin, Anne Mills, Sylvia Meek, and George Greer. “Medicine sellers and malaria treatment in sub-Saharan Africa: what do they do and how can their practice be improved?.” The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 77, no. 6 Suppl (2007): 203.

Kengeya-Kayondo, J., M. A. Gonzalez Block, and I. Bochorisvili. “Implementation Research for the Control of Diseases of Poverty: Strengthening the Evidence Base for Access to New and Improved Tools, Strategies and Interventions.” Geneva: World Health Organization and Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (2011).

Lucas, H. and Zwarenstein M. A Practical Guide to Implementation Research on Health Systems. Future Health Systems (2016) http://www.ids.ac.uk/publication/a-practical-guide-to-implementation-research-on-health-systems.

Sanders, David, and Andy Haines. “Implementation research is needed to achieve international health goals.” PLoS Med 3.6 (2006): e186.

Tindana, Paulina O., et al. “Grand challenges in global health: community engagement in research in developing countries.” PLoS Med 4.9 (2007): e273.

UNICEF, and World Health Organization. “Framework for operations and implementation research in health and disease control programs.” (2008).

Verkevisser, M. C., Indra Pathmanathan, and Ann Brownlee. “Designing and Conducting Health System Research Projects: Proposal Development and Field Work.” Health Serv Res 1 (2003).