Implementation research is the use of methods and strategies to bridge clinical research findings into practice. It is a systematic approach to understanding and addressing barriers to effective and quality implementation of health interventions, strategies and policies. Implementation research is demand-driven, with research questions framed based on needs which are identified by relevant stakeholders/implementers working together in the health system. It has been successfully used to update guidelines, policy and practices for drugs.
For antibiotics, this field can streamline the translation of guidelines into practice for the use of reserve antibiotics after phase 3 clinical trials to ensure their appropriate uptake and continued use. Results from implementation research can inform how best to integrate antibiotic use in complex and potentially low-resource health systems in the most cost-effective way and support antibiotic stewardship.
Implementation research projects can be carried out by anyone willing to generate evidence to support the uptake of research findings and other evidence-based practices into routine practice, typically governments academic institutions, drug developers and implementers. For instance, before a government decides to finance treatment with a new product, they may need to understand the cost of implementation, and therefore work with an academic institution to assess cost-effectiveness.
While ‘implementation research’ refers to the methodological approach needed to address implementation questions, health technology assessments (HTA) refer to specific research using these methods, aiming to evaluate the properties and effects of a health technology (test, device, medicine, vaccine, procedure, program) to inform decision makers.