Bildung-Psychology and implementation science

Competences for implementation science: what trainees need to learn and where they learn it

Education in implementation science, which involves the training of health professionals in how to implement evidence-based findings into health practice systematically, has become a highly relevant topic in health sciences education. The present study advances education in implementation science by compiling a competence profile for implementation practice and research and by exploring implementation experts' sources of expertise. The competence profile is theoretically based on educational psychology, which implies the definition of improvable and teachable competences. In an online-survey, an international, multidisciplinary sample of 82 implementation experts named competences that they considered most helpful for conducting implementation practice and implementation research. For these competences, they also indicated whether they had acquired them in their professional education, additional training, or by self-study and on-the-job experience. Data were analyzed using a mixed-methods approach that combined qualitative content analyses with descriptive statistics. The participants deemed collaboration knowledge and skills most helpful for implementation practice. For implementation research, they named research methodology knowledge and skills as the most important ones. The participants had acquired most of the competences that they found helpful for implementation practice in self-study or by on-the-job experience. However, participants had learned most of their competences for implementation research in their professional education. The present results inform education and training activities in implementation science and serve as a starting point for a fluid set of interdisciplinary implementation science competences that will be updated continuously. Implications for curriculum development and the design of educational activities are discussed.

How Connecting Psychology and Implementation Science Supports Pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract. Developing and implementing specific programs and interventions that target the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a complex endeavor that benefits from an interdisciplinary perspective. In this article, we describe how psychology and implementation science provide knowledge on (1) developing interventions and adapting existing programs to different contexts, (2) systematically and sustainably implementing interventions at different system levels, and (3) evaluating and monitoring the effectiveness of interventions in producing desired changes. By presenting tangible research examples, we discuss how psychological theories can help define didactic principles for educational interventions, how implementation frameworks may be applied for interventions in health care, and what indicators may be useful for measuring the attainment of gender equality at different system levels. These examples illustrate that including both psychology and implementation science in the interdisciplinary discourse of how to approach the SDGs is essential for achieving sustainable positive change.

The Teaching-Family Model: The First 50 Years

The Teaching-Family Model was perhaps the first "evidence-based program" in human services. This article describes the development of the treatment model, the failure of the first attempts to replicate the treatment model, the discovery of larger units for replication, the modest success of first attempts to replicate larger units, and the eventual success of replications. The Teaching-Family Model is a testament to the sustainability (and continual improvement) of innovation and implementation methods and the value of the Teaching-Family Association for sustaining a community of practice and for managing the practitioner fidelity and organization fidelity data systems nationally. The benefits of applied behavior analysis and the implications for a new science of implementation for having research purposefully used in practice are explored.