Section outline

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  • Thursday, April 4, 2019; 8:15 AM - 9:15 AM

    Lecture:  Why a science of implementation?

    Describe motivation for implementation science; understand need for rigor in program and implementing world as well as need for thinking about relevance in scholarly settings.  Epi framing:  the central scientific challenge to be one of context, and that heterogeneity is the rule, and suggest that implementation science is the meeting of phenomenology and positivism, which leads directly into the formalization of external validity

    Faculty:  Elvin Geng

    Location:  Mission Hall 1406

    • Session Slides:

    • Session 1 Slides 4/4/19 File

    • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

    • Required Reading/Viewing:

    • Brownson, Ross C., Graham A. Colditz, and Enola K. Proctor. Dissemination and implementation research in health: translating science to practice. Oxford University Press, 2012. (Chapter 2 - Terminology) File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Proctor, Enola K., et al. "Writing implementation research grant proposals: ten key ingredients." Implementation Science 7.1 (2012): 96. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Geng et al. Implementation science: Relevance in the real world without sacrificing rigor. PLOS File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Remme, Jan HF, et al. "Defining research to improve health systems." PLoS Med 7.11 (2010): e1001000. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Madon, Temina, et al. "Implementation science." Science 318.5857 (2007): 1728-1729. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Lee, Thomas H. "Eulogy for a quality measure." New England Journal of Medicine 357.12 (2007): 1175-1177 File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Gawande, Atul. "Slow ideas." The New Yorker 29 (2013). File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

    • Resources:


      •    http://programscience.com/
      •    http://www.journals.elsevier.com/healthcare-the-journal-of-delivery-science-and-innovation/
      •    http://www.oupcanada.com/catalog/9780199398331.html

    • Learning Objectives:

    • 1 - 239 Assignment Introduction and Overview File

    • Assignment: 

    • 1 - Epi 239 (2019) Assignment 1 - Identify a Gap-1 File

    • Assignment Answer Key (Access restricted to registered students):

  • Thursday, April 4, 2019; 9:15 AM - 10:15 AM

    Small Group Discussion Section

    Faculty: Elvin Geng

    Location:  MH-1108

    • Assignment 1 forum

      Please post by Tuesday, April 9th and make sure to comment on at least 2 other posts before the next class meeting on Thursday, April 11th.

  • Thursday, April 11, 2019; 8:15 AM - 9:15 AM

    Lecture: Approaches to understanding the implementation gap.

    Understand emerging tradition of theoretical thinking addressing the gap between evidence and practice; understand the role of theory; become familiar with common frameworks and theories; specific frameworks (e.g., CFIR); illustrate applications of theory to inform the understanding of a particular implementation problem; understand the critical role of subject area content knowledge in understanding any implementation gap.  Epi framing: description (describe the gap) using epidemiological tools - incidence, ratio and difference measures of association, but also other higher-dimensional ways of quantifying the gap, include disparities using econometric approaches to understanding distributions such as the Lorenz curve and related quantities,  competing risks, and issues of where you are on the scale, and how to apportion the gap at different levels of system across individuals and within individuals.

    Faculty: Elvin Geng

    Location:  Mission Hall 1406

    • Session Slides:

    • April 12 2018 Lecture File

    • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

    • Required Reading:

    • Michie, Susan, Maartje M. van Stralen, and Robert West. "The behaviour change wheel: a new method for characterising and designing behaviour change interventions." Implementation Science 6.1 (2011): 42. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Damschroder, Laura J., et al. "Fostering implementation of health services research findings into practice: a consolidated framework for advancing implementation science." Implement Sci 4.1 (2009): 50. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

    • Optional Reading:

    • Rogers, Everett M. Diffusion of innovations. Simon and Schuster, 2010. (Chapter 1) File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Green, Lawrence W., et al. "Diffusion theory and knowledge dissemination, utilization, and integration in public health." Annual review of public health 30 (2009). File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Nilsen, Per. "Making sense of implementation theories, models and frameworks." Implementation Science 10.1 (2015): 53. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Donabedian, Avedis. "The quality of care: How can it be assessed?" Jama 260.12 (1988): 1743-1748 File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Rimer, Barbara K., and Karen Glanz. "Theory at a glance: a guide for health promotion practice." (2005). File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Christopoulos KA, Hartogensis W, Glidden DV, Pilcher CD, Gandhi M, Geng EH. The Lorenz curve: a novel method for understanding viral load distribution at the population level. AIDS (London, England). 2017 Jan 14;31(2):309. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

    • Assignment: Optional narrative description

    • Assignment Answer Key (Access restricted to registered students):

    • 239 Assignment 2 - Gap Analysis File

  • Thursday, April 11, 2019; 9:15 AM - 10:15 AM

    Small Group Discussion Section

    Faculty: Elvin Geng

    Location: MH-1108

    • Assignment 2 Forum

      Please post by Tuesday, April 16th and make sure to comment on at least 2 other posts before the next class meeting on Thursday, April 18th.

  • Thursday, April 18, 2019; 8:15 AM - 9:15 AM

    Lecture: Approaches to understanding the gap between evidence and practice - emphasis on perspectives from social sciences

    Draw from major theoretical perspectives that emerge from traditions outside of health; social networks; random utility theory, cognitive biases; marketing; social proof.  Epi framing: same as above.

    Faculty:  Elvin Geng

    Location:  Mission Hall 1406

    • Session Slides:

    • Session 3 lecture slides File

    • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

    • Ashraf, Nava. "Rx: human nature." Harvard business review 91.4 (2013): 119-23. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • MINDSPACE 2010 File

    • Optional Reading:

    • Cialdini RB, Goldstein NJ. Social influence: Compliance and conformity. Annu. Rev. Psychol.. 2004 Feb 4;55:591-621. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Valente TW. Network interventions. Science. 2012 Jul 6;337(6090):49-53. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Hallsworth, Michael, et al. Provision of social norm feedback to high prescribers of antibiotics in general practice: a pragmatic national randomized controlled trial. The Lancet 387.10029 (2016): 1743-1752. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

    • Assignment:

    • Example for Assignment 3 - START Aims (1) File
    • 239 Assignment 3 - Gap Analysis Part II File

    • Assignment Answer Key (Access restricted to registered students):

  • Thursday, April 18, 2019; 9:15 AM - 10:15 AM

    Small Group Discussion Section

    Faculty:  Elvin Geng

    Location:  MH-1108

    • Assignment 3 Forum

      Please post by Tuesday, April 23rd and make sure to comment on at least 2 other posts before the next class meeting on Thursday, April 25th.

  • Thursday, April 25, 2019; 8:15 AM - 9:15 AM

    Lecture: Implementation strategies

    Understand how implementation strategies are best conceptualized, specified and reported; cover differences between implementation strategies and clinical interventions; illustrate shortcomings in the reporting of implementation strategies in current literature; illustrate unifying approach that cut across major families of implementation strategies.  Epi framing: Causal framework for multicomponent interventions, introduce causal pies for the relationship between context and multi-component interventions, and formalize adaptivity, discuss the idea of core and adaptable periphery

    Faculty: Elvin Geng

    Location:  Mission Hall 1406

    • Session Slides:

    • Session 4 slides File

    • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

    • Required Reading/Viewing:

    • Proctor, Enola, et al. "Outcomes for implementation research: conceptual distinctions, measurement challenges, and research agenda." Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 38.2 (2011): 65-76. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Proctor, Enola K., Byron J. Powell, and J. Curtis McMillen. "Implementation strategies: recommendations for specifying and reporting." Implementation Science 8.1 (2013): 1-11. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

    • Optional Reading:

    • Hoffmann, Tammy C., et al. "Better reporting of interventions: template for intervention description and replication (TIDieR) checklist and guide." Bmj 348 (2014): g1687. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Pinnock, Hilary, et al. "Standards for Reporting Implementation Studies (StaRI) Statement." bmj 356 (2017): i6795. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02
    • Powell BJ et al. A refined compilation of implementation strategies: results from the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) project. Implementation Science. 2015 Dec;10(1):21. File
      Not available unless: Your ID number contains 02

    • Assignment:

    • Assignment 4 Epi 239 - Intervention Specification File

    • Assignment Answer Key (Access restricted to registered students):

  • Thursday, April 25, 2019; 9:15 AM - 10:15 AM

    Small Group Discussion Section
    Gap Analysis

    Faculty: Elvin Geng

    Location:  MH-1108

    • Assignment 4 Forum

      Please post by Tuesday, April 30th and make sure to comment on at least 2 other posts before the next class meeting on Thursday, May 2nd.

  • Thursday, May 2, 2019, 8:15 AM - 9:15 AM

    Lecture: Study designs useful for implementation science

    Understand the utility of particular research designs –traditional randomized trial, pragmatic trials, stepped wedge; cover use of “impact evaluation” strategies such as regression discontinuity and difference-in-difference; the concept of natural experiments; hybrid designs – implementation and effectiveness trials; highlight challenges to real world data collection (e.g., variability of SOC, embeddedness); cover examples of studies that confront implementation problems but were not designed to do so and potential consequences; understand emerging anti-rctism.  Epi framing:  Introduce transport framework as a formal way of talking about inferences in setting or populations, revisit causal identifiability

    Faculty:  Elvin Geng


    Location:  Mission Hall 1406

  • Thursday, May 2, 2019; 9:15 AM - 10:15 AM

    Small Group Discussion Section

    Faculty:  Elvin Geng

    Location:  MH-1108

    • Assignment 5 Forum

      Please post by Tuesday, May 7th and make sure to comment on at least 2 other posts before the next class meeting on Thursday, May 9th.

  • Thursday, May 9, 2019; 8:15 AM - 9:15 AM

    Lecture: Mechanisms in implementation research

    Theory of change literature, causal model and mechanisms, archetypal nodes in implementation mechanism, why mechanism is the key to external validity, mechanism and the "identifiability" of external validity.  Epidemiological framing:  discuss mediation, consider discussion of direct and indirect effects, natural and controlled direct effects, link mechanism to external validity, causal pies

    Faculty:  Elvin Geng


    Location:  Mission Hall 1406

  • Thursday, May 9, 2019; 9:15 AM - 10:15 AM

    Small Group Discussion Section

    Faculty:  Elvin Geng

    Location:  MH-1108
    • Assignment 6 Forum

      Please post by Tuesday evening and remember to comment on at least two other posts before Thursday lecture. Thanks! 

  • Thursday, May 16, 2019; 8:15 AM - 9:15 AM

    Lecture: Measurement in implementation science 

    Use of real-world clinical databases; quantifying potential sources of bias; opportunities and pitfalls of embedded research; strategies to control bias in setting of imperfect control of measurement; practical considerations in communicating about data with database managers.  Discuss missing data, bias analysis

    Faculty: Elvin Geng


    Location:  Mission Hall 1406

    • Lau Clinical Cohorts 07 File

    • Session Slides:

    • Week 7 Lecture slides File

    • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

    • Assignment: Please submit by Tuesday May 22nd and comment on 2 other postings by Thursday May 24th.

    • 239 Assignment - Dissemination Plan File

    • Assignment Answer Key (Access restricted to registered students):

  • Thursday, May 16, 2019; 9:15 AM - 10:15 AM

    Small Group Discussion Section

    Faculty:  Elvin Geng

    Location:  MH-1108

    • Assignment 7 Forum

      Please post by Tuesday evening and remember to comment on at least two other posts before Thursday lecture. Thanks! 

  • Thursday, May 23, 2019; 8:15 AM - 9:15 AM

    Lecture: Implementing implementation science: from knowledge to policy and practice

    Stakeholder and community engagement; effect of evidence on policy; an ecological view of evidence; practical examples of studying policy development.  Epi framing: none

    Faculty:  Elvin Geng

    Location:  Mission Hall 1406

  • Thursday, May 23, 2019; 9:15 AM - 10:15 AM

    Small Group Discussion

    We will keep reviewing your work!

    Location:  Mission Hall 1108

  • Thursday, May 30, 2019; 8:15 AM - 9:15 AM

    Lecture: Mixed methods in implementation science

    Discussion of how to incorporate mixed methods in implementation science; how to use qualitative research to get at implementation issues; the synergy of qualitative and quantitative approaches.  Epi framing:  Revisit contextual knowledge and use of qualitative data to formulate a causal model, and influence of causal model on analytic decisions, same considerations for selection diagrams and qualitative data

    Faculty:  Sara Ackerman, PhD

    Location:  Mission Hall 1406


    • Session Slides:

    • Lecture slides: mixed methods File

    • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

    • Required Reading/Viewing:

    • Greenhalgh BMC 2018 File

    • Optional Reading:

    • Geng LTFU DAG AJE 2012 File
    • Hernan Causal Know Conf AJE02 File

    • Assignment: 

    • Epi 239 - Final Project Instructions File

    • Assignment Answer Key (Access restricted to registered students):

  • Thursday, May 30, 2019; 9:15 AM - 10:15 AM

    Small Group Discussion Section:

    Faculty: Elvin Geng, Matt Spinelli, Emilia De Marchis


    Location:  MH-1108

    N.B. I noticed some confusion with the COM-B terms this week in discussion, here is a helpful 2 page handout to remind you what each of the terms mean

    Adding pdf with COREQ reporting guidelines for qualitative research as well!

  • Thursday, June 6, 2019; 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

    Lecture: How to get implementation science funded and published 

    Discuss how implementation science is perceived at the NIH; understand journal editors' perspectives; pitfalls in peer review; use the START pragmatic trial as a case study; use Roy K23 as an example; use CIHR as example

    Final Presentations

    Faculty:  Elvin Geng

    Location:  Mission Hall 1406

    • Session Audio/Video Recording (Access restricted to registered students):

    • Required Reading: