The state of measurement in implementation science
As a new field, implementation science is experiencing instrumentation issues where a large number of measures have been created but have not been sufficiently evaluated to ensure they actually measure what is intended.
With the need to measure aspects of implementation strategy process or implementation strategies, many measures have been developed on demand for a particular study with little to no psychometric evaluation.
Additionally, lack of linguistic consensus or clarity combined with a lack of operationalization of the constructs measured limits the field’s ability to make comparisons across studies. This is particularly true given that most measures are developed, used once, and then never used again.
There is extensive work underway in the field to map the measurement landscape and evaluate the strength of the psychometric evidence for measures used. One example of this work is the NIMH-funded Instrument Review Project, headed by Dr. Cara Lewis, where all instruments used in behavioral health to answer implementation science questions are being evaluated for their psychometric and pragmatic strength.
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Systems Antecedents for Dissemination and Implementation: A Review and Analysis of Measures (Health Education and Behavior, 2011)
Toward the Effective and Efficient Measurement of Implementation Fidelity (Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 2011)
✪ Advancing the application, quality and harmonization of implementation science measures (Implementation Science, 2012)
✪ Measuring factors affecting implementation of health innovations: A systematic review of structural, organizational, provider, patient, and innovation level measures (Implementation Science, 2013)
Measures for Predictors of Innovation Adoption (Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 2015)
✪ Psychometric properties of implementation measures for public health and community settings and mapping of constructs against the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research: a systematic review (Implementation Science, 2016)
✪ Developing measures to assess constructs from the Inner Setting domain of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (Implementation Science, 2018)
The Instrument Review Project: Measures of Implementation Science in Behavioral Health
Associated Publications:
✪ Instrumentation issues in implementation science (Implementation Science, 2014)
✪ The Society for Implementation Research Collaboration Instrument Review Project: A methodology to promote rigorous evaluation (Implementation Science, 2015)
✪ Advancing implementation science through measure development and evaluation: A study protocol (Implementation Science, 2015)
✪ Outcomes for implementation science: an enhanced systematic review of instruments using evidence-based rating criteria (Implementation Science, 2015)
✪ Measurement resources for dissemination and implementation research in health (Implementation Science, 2016)
✪ Toward criteria for pragmatic measurement in implementation research and practice: A stakeholder-driven approach using concept mapping (Implementation Science, 2017)
✪ An updated protocol for a systematic review of implementation-related measures (Systematic Reviews, 2018)
Stakeholder perspectives and use of implementation science measurement tools (Conference Presentation, 2018)
Measures and Outcomes in Implementation Science (Advancing the Science of Implementation Across the Cancer Continuum, 2018)
Pragmatic measures for implementation research: development of the Psychometric and Pragmatic Evidence Rating Scale (PAPERS) (Translational Behavioral Medicine, 2019)