SIRC 2017 Call for Abstracts

Mechanisms of Implementation: What Works and Why?

The goal of the 4th Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration is to provide a platform for examining the mechanisms that underlie implementation efforts. Implementation mechanisms reflect the processes that are responsible for change and their study is critically important to understanding the heterogeneity and context dependence of implementation strategy impacts. We hope that SIRC 2017 will help us determine why or how implementation strategies exert their effect.

Implementation science was designed to bridge the science-to-practice gap. In less than a decade we come a long way. We have generated over 60 implementation frameworks, 1 developed 73 implementation strategies, 2 601 plausible determinants of practice (i.e. barriers/facilitators 3) and 420 measures of context, processes, and outcomes. 4 However, mechanisms of implementation are not well understood and often, implementation efforts in service settings demonstrate a science-to-practice gap, parallel to that for clinical practice in service settings.

While a wide variety of evidence-based implementation strategies has been developed (e.g., training programs that combine didactic training with ongoing consultation), the service demands, funding limitations, and competing business priorities of clinical settings often make it difficult for these strategies to be implemented outside of research funded programs. SIRC wants you to help us answer the question, “Mechanisms of Implementation:  What Matters?” so the field of implementation science can realize its potential and, most importantly, effective interventions that can reach individuals in need. We need to know what matters when it comes to the following (as just a few examples):

  • How and why do specific implementation strategies improve implementation outcomes? How do you implement simply, seamlessly, and easily?
  • Of the over 60 implementation frameworks, what is the most parsimonious framework, model, or theory that can be used to guide a practical implementation project?
  • Which of the 73 implementation strategies are needed to promote which implementation outcomes (i.e., adoption, implementation, fidelity, sustainment)? What are the most cost-effective implementation strategies?
  • Which of the 601 determinants /factors /constructs/ barriers must be addressed?
  • Which of the 420 measures are psychometrically strong and pragmatic?
  • What are the optimal model of university-community partnerships that support effective and sustainable EBP implementation?
  • How do we tailor implementation strategies to different contexts? Does tailoring result in better outcomes?
  • When an implementation intervention fails, why did it fail and what can be learned from that?

References

  1. Tabak RG, Khoong EC, Chambers DA, & Brownson RC: Bridging research and practice: models for dissemination and implementation research. Am J Prev Med. 2012, 43(3): 337-350.
  2. Powell BJ, Waltz TJ, Chinman MJ, et al: A refined compilation of implementation strategies: results from the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) project. Implement Sci. 2015, 10(1): 1.
  3. Krause J, Van Lieshout J, Klomp R, et al: Identifying determinants of care for tailoring implementation in chronic diseases: an evaluation of different methods. Implement Sci, 2014, 9(1): 1.
  4. Lewis C, Stanick C, Martinez R, et al: The Society for Implementation Research Collaboration Instrument Review Project: a methodology to promote rigorous evaluation. Implement Sci, 2015, 10(2): 1.

As always at SIRC, we hope that our growing number of EBP Champion members and stakeholders (administrators, clinicians, trainers and implementation practitioners and purveyors) will attend and/or present at the conference

Submission Guidelines

We invite submissions for oral presentations of 15-20 minutes, 90 minute symposia, or posters. Presentations not accepted for oral format will automatically be considered for poster format unless declined by author. In order to submit a symposium, a symposium chair and discussant must be identified, along with 3 to 4 oral presentations. The symposium presentations must have a common theme, upon which the discussant will summarize and comment. All non-symposia submissions will be categorized by theme at the discretion of the Program Committee. Poster submissions are welcome from researchers and champions at all stages of their career. In an effort to continue our goal of facilitating the promotion of junior colleagues, we will be selecting an undergraduate student’s poster to be awarded the SIRC Student Research Award for any undergraduate student or individual who has completed an undergraduate degree and is planning for graduate school

Abstract Guidelines

Submissions must include: title of presentation(s), abstract(s) of 400 words or less, AMA-style references (numbered in order of appearance), 3-5 learning objectives per abstract, 3-5 key words that describes your abstract, all authors’ names and affiliations, stage of project proposal (i.e., data being collected, data collected, data collected and analyzed), project implementation phase (i.e., in process, in progress, completed), and CVs of presenting authors (CVs needed only for presenters who will be in the ‘front of the room’ – not all authors). Acknowledgements may also be included. Only papers that have been published, are in press, or are available through public e-print/preprint servers should be included in the reference list. Journal abbreviations should follow MEDLINE standards. For symposia, a summary abstract, as well as individual presentation abstracts must be submitted together. For all submissions, you will be asked to copy and paste your abstract text into a text field in the submission portal, as well as to upload your abstract submission as a Word document. Finally, please select a track or tracks that you believe best fits your submission. The tracks listed are not final, but rather will serve as possible conference tracks and a method for categorizing presentation topics.

Possible tracks to select from (you will be asked to select all that apply):

  1. Provider-level determinants or mechanisms
  2. Organizational-level determinants or mechanisms
  3. Policy (international, domestic)
  4. Technology
  5. Implementation measurement
  6. Implementation methods or models
  7. Tailoring implementation strategies (e.g., for diverse communities / under-served populations, specific/unique practice settings or provider roles)
  8. Other

We are excited to submit SIRC conference abstracts to BioMed Central for publication as a conference supplement. We understand that the formatting requirements for BioMed Central are strict and may be difficult to apply to your abstract submission. For additional guidance on preparing your abstract according to BioMed Central standards, please reference the ‘gold standard’ abstracts below that fit the formatting requirements for the supplement publication. SIRC Program Officers are available to provide consultation on ensuring your abstract meets the BioMed Central guidelines if necessary.

Abstract Examples

Call for Abstracts closes March 17, 2017

Click here to access the Submission Portal.

If you have questions about the submission process or about the conference in general, please email us at sirc@uw.edu for assistance