Fumbling towards a causal theory in implementation science

David Mandell, Sc.D.
University of Pennsylvania

ABSTRACT:
Implementation science research has led to a broad understanding and consensus regarding barriers and facilitators to successful implementation of evidence-based practices. This consensus has been captured in many heuristic frameworks. Most of these frameworks do not specify casual associations among variables however, limiting our ability to identify targets and mechanisms that could lead to effective and efficient implementation strategies. In this presentation, I will describe our research groups efforts to develop and test a theory of implementation that combines psychological theories of behavior change with organizational theory. I will present the model and its rationale, describe some of the methodological challenges associated with applying and testing these model, and give two examples from different settings that provide some validation of different parts of this model.