Researchers in the Centre for Implementation Science at King’s College London and King’s Improvement Science have developed the glossary, drawing on their knowledge of the literature and experience of conducting implementation research.
Dr Louise Hull, the ARC’s implementation research lead, who led the development of the new resource, says:
Implementation science has been described as a Tower of Babel*. There are many established and widely used concepts and terms – for example, implementation outcomes and implementation strategies. At the same time, new concepts, terms, and definitions are frequently emerging, such as re-implementation. This creates a need to consolidate terms and definitions used in implementation science research
The new glossary builds on previous efforts to track implementation terminology, providing an up-to-date and comprehensive list of more than 100 terms and acronyms relating specifically to implementation science research.
Implementation science focuses on the methods to promote the adoption and integration of evidence-based practices into routine care. The glossary is aimed at research teams designing, conducting and reporting implementation research, particularly in the areas of health and care research.
Implementation science research is critical to improving the implementation and sustainment of evidence-based interventions, with the ultimate aim of improving the quality and equity of healthcare. We hope that by clarifying key concepts and terms, this glossary will support this much-needed research
* A cross-sectional study of the number and frequency of terms used to refer to knowledge translation in a body of health literature in 2006: a Tower of Babel? McKibbon et al, 2015. Implement Sci.