Implementation Strategies for Evidence-Based Practice in Health and Health Care

Health systems in the United States have an acute need to better understand how they can most effectively implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) to improve care for their patients. Although the definition can vary, EBPs are clinical interventions that have been tested through research andshown to improve patient outcomes. Research has shown that successfully getting EBP into routine care can require implementation strategies, defined as "methods or techniques used to enhance the adoption, implementation, and sustainability of a clinical program or practice." Many such strategies have been developed and tested, but much of the evidence for these strategies has focused on a given clinical setting or on a particular strategy. However,implementation strategies are intended to be applied across a wide range of EBPs. Thus, without a comprehensive synthesis across settings and strategies, it is difficult to understand the evidence in a broad context. This level of understanding is necessary for practitioners and others seeking to navigate the evidence across the full array of strategies to inform their choices. Therefore, this project sought to answer the following questions: 1. What is the quantitative evidence for the effectiveness of various implementation strategies to improve health, alone or in combination with other strategies? 2. What are the current gaps in the quantitative evidence for implementation strategy effectiveness?