Implementation science: What is it and why should I care?
Open accessAbstract
Centuries of experience make it clear that establishing the effectiveness of a clinical innovation is not sufficient to guarantee its uptake into routine use. The relatively new field of implementation science has developed to enhance the uptake of evidence-based practices and thereby increase their public health impact. Implementation science shares many characteristics, and the rigorous approach, of clinical research. However, it is distinct in that it attends to factors in addition to the effectiveness of the clinical innovation itself, to include identifying and addressing barriers and facilitators to the uptake of evidence-based clinical innovations. This article reviews the definition, history, and scope of implementation science, and places the field within the broader enterprise of biomedical research. It also provides an overview of this Special Issue of Psychiatry Research, which introduces the principles and methods of implementation science to mental health researchers.
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Implementation outcomes are influenced by a complex interaction of contextual, organizational, workforce, policy, and system-level factors.
“implementation outcomes are influenced by a complex interaction of contextual, organizational, workforce, policy, and system-level factors [12,13,14].”
From A Scoping Review of Implemented Innovations in Cancer Care: Implications for Pan-Canadian Scaling (2026) · cites this paper as [12]
Successful innovations do not scale automatically.
“Evidence from implementation science demonstrates that successful innovations do not scale automatically”
From A Scoping Review of Implemented Innovations in Cancer Care: Implications for Pan-Canadian Scaling (2026) · cites this paper as [12]
Adoption and implementation of new practices have generally been shown to take from 17 to 20 years.
“the adoption and implementation of new practices have generally been shown to take from 17 to 20 years. 24”
From GLIM consensus approach to diagnosis of malnutrition: A 5‐year update (2025) · cites this paper as [24]
Cites
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Audit and feedback: effects on professional practice and healthcare outcomes
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“(Curran et al., 2012; and see Kirchner, this issue) While the subject population and setting in an implementation trial may resemble those used in effectiveness trials, alternatively the unit of observation in implementation trials may also be providers or clinics or even entire…”
Self-citationHarvey, G., & Kitson, A. (2015) · Implementation Science · doi:10.1186/s13012-016-0398-2 · Cited by 1,271 · see citing works
Practice-based research--“Blue Highways” on the NIH roadmap
Westfall, J. M., Mold, J., & Fagnan, L. (2007) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.297.4.403 · Cited by 1,209 · see citing works
The role of formative evaluation in implementation research and the QUERI experience
Stetler, C. B., Legro, M. W., Wallace, C. M., Bowman, C., Guihan, M., Hagedorn, H., Kimmel, B., Sharp, N. D., & Smith, J. L. (2006) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1007/s11606-006-0267-9 · Cited by 642 · see citing works
Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health
(2017) · Oxford Scholarship Online · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190683214.001.0001 · Cited by 396 · see citing works
Wells, K. B. (1999) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.156.1.5 · Cited by 390 · see citing works
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Self-citationHistorical Roots of Dissemination and Implementation Science
Dearing, J. W., & Kee, K. F. (2012) · Dissemination and Implementation Research in HealthTranslating Science to Practice · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199751877.003.0003 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
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An introduction to effectiveness-implementation hybrid designs
Landes, S. J., McBain, S. A., & Curran, G. M. (2019) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112513 · Cited by 516 · see citing works
Lewinski, A. A., Crowley, M. J., Miller, C., Bosworth, H. B., Jackson, G. L., Steinhauser, K., White-Clark, C., McCant, F., & Zullig, L. L. (2021) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/mlr.0000000000001553 · Cited by 296 · see citing works
A deadly infodemic: social media and the power of COVID-19 misinformation
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Jensen, G. L., Cederholm, T., Correia, M. I. T. D., Gonzalez, M. C., Fukushima, R., Pisprasert, V., Blaauw, R., Braz, D. C., Carrasco, F., Cruz Jentoft, A. J., et al. (2025) · Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · doi:10.1002/jpen.2756 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
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The decriminalization of illicit drugs in British Columbia: a national evaluation protocol.
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López-del-Hoyo, Y., Fernández-Martínez, S., Pérez-Aranda, A., Barceló-Soler, A., Guzman-Parra, J., Varela-Moreno, E., Campos, D., Monreal-Bartolomé, A., Beltrán-Ruiz, M., Moreno-Küstner, B., et al. (2022) · BMC Nursing · doi:10.1186/s12912-022-01089-5 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Implementation Research Is Underdeveloped in Oral Health: Bridging the Gap
Tay, J. R. H., Bosworth, H. B., Fox, C. H., Gallagher, J. E., Jakubovics, N. S., Schwendicke, F., & Nascimento, G. G. (2026) · Journal of Dental Research · doi:10.1177/00220345251410462 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“Unlike efficacy or effectiveness studies, which aim to con-trol the context to test whether an intervention works under ideal conditions, implementation research takes a step forward and explicitly addresses the complexity of health systems (Bauer and Kirchner 2020).”
Rivard, M., Mello, C., Sanchez, C., Grenier-Martin, J., Lefebvre, C., Forget, J., Mestari, Z., & Morin, D. (2025) · Evaluation and Program Planning · doi:10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2025.102657 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Bomfim, R. A., & Arriola-Pacheco, F. (2025) · Community Dental Health · doi:10.1177/0265539x251355214 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
A Scoping Review of Implemented Innovations in Cancer Care: Implications for Pan-Canadian Scaling
Sampalli, T., Tomblin Murphy, G., Peacock, S., Navaratnam, S., Domm, D., & MacKenzie, K. (2026) · Current Oncology · doi:10.3390/curroncol33070395
- Authors
- Bauer, M. S., & Kirchner, J.
- Affiliations
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bauer, Mark S.
- Venue
- Psychiatry Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-01
- Volume
- 283
- Pages
- 112376
- ISSN
- 0165-1781 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2941557779
- Cited by
- 1,167
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 173 · 2025: 276 · 2024: 292 · 2023: 188 · 2022: 157 · 2021: 53 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 6
- FWCI
- 10.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Psychiatry Research (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (QUE 15-289, CIN 13-403)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Policy Implementation Science
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Sciences Research and Education
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Clinical practice guidelines implementation
- Keywords
- implementation science, evidence-based practice, barriers and facilitators, mental health research, public health impact
- MeSH terms
- Implementation Science, Humans, Biomedical Research, Evidence-Based Practice, Inventions
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