UW Articles Archive - Page 24 of 60 - Implementation Science at UW

✪ Project UPLIFT: Adoption and implementation experiences of an epilepsy self-management program

✪ Project MIMIC (Maximizing Implementation of Motivational Incentives in Clinics): results of a 28-site cluster-randomized type 3 hybrid trial

Abstract:

Background

Contingency management (CM), a behavioral treatment that incentivizes patients for attaining treatment goals, is a highly effective adjunct to medication for opioid use disorder. However, CM is rarely offered in opioid treatment programs in the United States. In a prior pilot trial, the implementation strategy (didactic workshop + feedback + consultation) delivered by the Addiction Technology Transfer Centers (ATTC strategy) promoted CM adoption more effectively than didactic training, but the speed and duration of implementation were sub-optimal. This 28-site type 3 hybrid trial tested the comparative effectiveness of the ATTC strategy versus an Enhanced-ATTC (E-ATTC) strategy that contained two theory-driven techniques targeting implementation climate to improve acceleration and sustainment, respectively: a provider-focused incentivization strategy and a team-focused facilitation strategy. We hypothesized that the E-ATTC strategy would be associated with superior implementation and patient outcomes.

Methods

Twenty-eight opioid treatment programs, 186 providers, and 592 patients were cluster-randomized to receive either the ATTC or E-ATTC strategy. Providers logged their CM sessions in an online CM Tracker and submitted audio-recorded CM sessions, and patients completed surveys about their opioid use at three timepoints. Intention-to-treat analyses examined impacts of the two multi-level strategies on implementation outcomes (CM Exposure, CM Competence, CM Sustainment) and patient outcomes (Opioid Abstinence, Opioid Related Problems).

Results

The pattern of results was identical across unadjusted, propensity score-adjusted, and covariate-adjusted general linear mixed models, though significance varied slightly. Relative to providers receiving the ATTC strategy, those receiving the E-ATTC strategy had significantly higher odds of CM Exposure (covariate adjusted OR = 3.21, p < 0.05) and of attaining the Excellent CM Competence benchmark (propensity-adjusted OR = 4.07, p < 0.05). Patients at the E-ATTC sites had significantly greater likelihood of Opioid Abstinence over time (OR = 2.04, p < 0.05). There were no significant conditional differences in CM Sustainment, though data were measured at the program-level, which limited power to detect differences.

Conclusions

The theory-driven E-ATTC strategy, which targeted implementation climate via facilitation and incentivization, had superior implementation and patient outcomes relative to the ATTC strategy. Results of this study can help inform ongoing CM implementation efforts across the United States.

^{**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**}

✪ Optimising scale-up for public health impact: a multimethod implementation science research protocol to improve infant health outcomes in Ethiopia

Abstract:

Introduction

Child mortality rates remain high in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia. We are conducting a cluster randomised control trial in the Gondar zone of the Amhara region to determine the impact of pairing Orthodox priests with community health workers, known locally as the Health Development Army (HDA), on newborns’ nutritional status, early illness identification and treatment, and vaccination completeness.

Ensuring intervention efficacy with scientific rigour is essential, but there are often delays in adopting evidence into policy and programmes. Here, we present a protocol for conducting parallel implementation research alongside an efficacy study to understand intervention implementability and scalability. This will help develop a scale-up strategy for effective elements of the intervention to ensure rapid implementation at scale.

Methods and Analysis

We will conduct a stakeholder analysis of key implementation stakeholders and readiness surveys to assess their readiness to scale up the intervention. We will conduct semistructured interviews and focus group discussions with stakeholders, including HDA members, health workers, Orthodox priests, and caregivers, to determine the core intervention elements that need to be scaled, barriers and facilitators to scaling up the intervention in diverse sociocultural settings, as well as the human and technical requirements for national and regional implementation. Finally, to determine the financial resources necessary for sustaining and scaling the intervention, we will conduct activity-based costing to estimate implementation costs from the provider’s perspective.

Ethics and dissemination

The study received approval from the University of Gondar Institutional Review Board (approval no: VP/RTT/05/1030/2022) and the University of Washington Human Subjects Division (approval no: STUDY00015369). Participants will consent to participate. Results will be disseminated through workshops with stakeholders, local community meetings, presentations at local and international conferences, and journal publications. The study will provide evidence for factors to consider in developing a scale-up strategy to integrate the intervention into routine health system practices.
^{**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**}

✪ Study protocol: Novel Methods for Implementing Measurement-Based Care with youth in Low-Resource Environments (NIMBLE)

Abstract:

Introduction

For youth receiving care in community mental health centers, comorbidities are the rule rather than the exception. Using measurement-based care (MBC), or the routine evaluation of symptoms to inform care decisions, as the foundation of treatment for youth with comorbid problems significantly improves the impact of psychotherapy by focusing care and building engagement and alliance. MBC increases the rate of symptom improvement, detects clients who would otherwise deteriorate, and alerts clinicians to non-responders. Despite its demonstrated utility, MBC is rarely implemented with fidelity; less than 15% of providers report using MBC per recommendations. Previous efforts to support MBC implementation have yielded suboptimal outcomes, in part, due to organizations’ challenges with identifying and prioritizing barriers and selecting and developing strategies to overcome them. New methods are needed for identifying and prioritizing barriers, and matching strategies to barriers to optimize MBC implementation and treatment quality to improve youth mental health outcomes in community settings.

Methods

Pragmatic implementation methods will be piloted in four diverse community mental health centers. Methods include (a) rapid evidence synthesis; (b) rapid ethnography; (c) design kits (e.g., kits with disposable cameras, journals, maps); (d) barrier prioritization, and (e) causal pathway diagramming. These activities will generate actionable barriers; subsequently, we will use facilitated group processes to prioritize barriers and develop causal pathway diagrams to match strategies to barriers to create implementation plans that optimize MBC fidelity (Aim 1). We will track strategy deployment for 6 months, then compare MBC fidelity for another 6 months post-implementation with data from 2 years of historical controls (Aim 2). Finally, we will co-design a toolkit for design kit methods with youth and the practice and scientific communities (Aim 3).

Discussion

Optimizing MBC implementation in community mental health centers could transform youth mental health care by ensuring the most pressing symptoms are targeted early in treatment. The discussion section highlights expected challenges and limits to using the five methods, including recruitment and engagement given the high pressure on community mental health settings.

^{**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**}

✪ Applying implementation science to evaluate participatory ergonomics program for continuous improvement: A case study in the construction industry

✪ An implementation strategy package (video education, HIV self-testing, and co-location) improves PrEP implementation for pregnant women in antenatal care clinics in western Kenya

Abstract:

Background

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is recommended by the World Health Organization and the Kenyan Ministry of Health for HIV prevention in pregnancy and postpartum for women at risk for HIV. Integration of PrEP into antenatal care is promising, but delivery gaps exist in the face of healthcare provider shortages in resource-limited settings.

Methods

Between May and November 2021, we conducted a difference-in-differences study (3 months pre-intervention data collection and 3 months post-intervention data collection) analyzing four intervention facilities, where the strategies were implemented, and four comparison facilities, where no strategies were implemented. We tested a combination of three implementation strategies—video-based PrEP information in the waiting bay, HIV self-testing, and dispensing of PrEP in the antenatal care rooms—to improve PrEP delivery. We compared absolute changes in the proportion of antenatal attendees screened for PrEP (PrEP penetration), the proportion receiving all PrEP-specific steps in a visit (HIV testing, risk screening, and PrEP counseling) (PrEP fidelity), and client PrEP knowledge, client satisfaction, and waiting time and service time (a priori outcomes); post hoc, we compared the proportion offered PrEP (PrEP offer) and completing HIV testing. We measured provider perceptions of the acceptability and appropriateness of the implementation strategies.

Results

We observed significant improvements in PrEP penetration, PrEP offer, satisfaction, and knowledge (p < 0.05) and improvements in fidelity that trended towards significance (p = 0.057). PrEP penetration increased 5 percentage points (p = 0.008), PrEP fidelity increased 8 percentage points (p = 0.057), and PrEP offer increased 4 percentage points (p = 0.003) in intervention vs. comparison facilities. Client PrEP knowledge increased by 1.7 out of 6 total points (p < 0.001) and client satisfaction increased by 0.7 out of 24 total points (p = 0.003) in intervention vs. comparison facilities. We observed no changes in service time (0.09-min decrease; p = 0.435) and a small increase in waiting time (0.33-min increase; p = 0.005). HIV testing among those eligible did not change (1.5 percentage point decrease, p = 0.800). Providers felt the implementation strategies were acceptable and appropriate (median acceptability: 20/20; median appropriateness: 19.5/20). However, absolute levels of each step of the PrEP cascade remained suboptimal

Conclusions

An implementation strategy package with video information, HIV self-testing, and co-location of medication dispensing enhanced PrEP delivery across several implementation outcomes and client satisfaction, while not substantially increasing wait time or decreasing provider-client contact time.

^{**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**}

✪ Strengthening integrated depression services within routine primary health care using the RE-AIM framework in South Africa

Authors:

Inge Petersen, Christopher G. Kemp, Deepa Rao, Bradley H. Wagenaar, Max Bachmann, Kenneth Sherr, Tasneem Kathree, Zamasomi Luvuno, André Van Rensburg, Sithabisile Gugulethu Gigaba, Londiwe Mthethwa, Merridy Grant, One Selohilwe, Nikiwe Hongo, Gillian Faris, Christy-Joy Ras, Lara Fairall, Sanah Bucibo, & Arvin Bhana

^{University of Washington affiliated authors are displayed in bold.}

✪ Open Access

Published: November 2023

Read the full text in the open access journal PLOS Global Public Health

Abstract:

Integration of mental health into routine primary health care (PHC) services in low-and middle-income countries is globally accepted to improve health outcomes of other conditions and narrow the mental health treatment gap. Yet implementation remains a challenge. The aim of this study was to identify implementation strategies that improve implementation outcomes of an evidence-based depression care collaborative implementation model integrated with routine PHC clinic services in South Africa. An iterative, quasi-experimental, observational implementation research design, incorporating the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework, was applied to evaluate implementation outcomes of a strengthened package of implementation strategies (stage two) compared with an initial evaluation of the model (stage one). The first stage package was implemented and evaluated in 10 PHC clinics and the second stage strengthened package in 19 PHC clinics (inclusive of the initial 10 clinics) in one resource-scarce district in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Diagnosed service users were more likely to be referred for counselling treatment in the second stage compared with stage one (OR 23.15, SE = 18.03, z = 4.04, 95%CI [5.03–106.49], p < .001). Training in and use of a validated, mandated mental health screening tool, including on-site educational outreach and technical support visits, was an important promoter of nurse-level diagnosis rates (OR 3.75, 95% CI [1.19, 11.80], p = 0.02). Nurses who perceived the integrated care model as acceptable were also more likely to successfully diagnose patients (OR 2.57, 95% CI [1.03–6.40], p = 0.043). Consistent availability of a clinic counsellor was associated with a greater probability of referral (OR 5.9, 95%CI [1.29–27.75], p = 0.022). Treatment uptake among referred service users remained a concern across both stages, with inconsistent co-located counselling services associated with poor uptake. The importance of implementation research for strengthening implementation strategies along the cascade of care for integrating depression care within routine PHC services is highlighted.

^{**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**}

✪ Implementation measurement in global mental health: Results from a modified Delphi panel and investigator survey

Abstract:

Limited guidance exists to support investigators in the choice, adaptation, validation and use of implementation measures for global mental health implementation research. Our objectives were to develop consensus on best practices for implementation measurement and identify strengths and opportunities in current practice. We convened seven expert panelists. Participants rated approaches to measure adaptation and validation according to appropriateness and feasibility. Follow-up interviews were conducted and a group discussion was held. We then surveyed investigators who have used quantitative implementation measures in global mental health implementation research. Participants described their use of implementation measures, including approaches to adaptation and validation, alongside challenges and opportunities. Panelists agreed that investigators could rely on evidence of a measure’s validity, reliability and dimensionality from similar contexts. Panelists did not reach consensus on whether to establish the pragmatic qualities of measures in novel settings. Survey respondents (n = 28) most commonly reported using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research Inner Setting Measures (n = 9) and the Program Assessment Sustainability Tool (n = 5). All reported adapting measures to their settings; only two reported validating their measures. These results will support guidance for implementation measurement in support of mental health services in diverse global settings.

^{**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**}

✪ Application of the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) compilation of strategies to health intervention implementation in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Abstract:

Background

The Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) project developed a compilation of implementation strategies that are intended to standardize reporting and evaluation. Little is known about the application of ERIC in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We systematically reviewed the literature on the use and specification of ERIC strategies for health intervention implementation in LMICs to identify gaps and inform future research.

Methods

We searched peer-reviewed articles published through March 2023 in any language that (1) were conducted in an LMIC and (2) cited seminal ERIC articles or (3) mentioned ERIC in the title or abstract. Two co-authors independently screened all titles, abstracts, and full-text articles, then abstracted study, intervention, and implementation strategy characteristics of included studies.

Results

The final sample included 60 studies describing research from all world regions, with over 30% published in the final year of our review period. Most studies took place in healthcare settings (n = 52, 86.7%), while 11 (18.2%) took place in community settings and four (6.7%) at the policy level. Across studies, 548 distinct implementation strategies were identified with a median of six strategies (range 1–46 strategies) included in each study. Most studies (n = 32, 53.3%) explicitly matched implementation strategies used for the ERIC compilation. Among those that did, 64 (87.3%) of the 73 ERIC strategies were represented. Many of the strategies not cited included those that target systems- or policy-level barriers. Nearly 85% of strategies included some component of strategy specification, though most only included specification of their action (75.2%), actor (57.3%), and action target (60.8%). A minority of studies employed randomized trials or high-quality quasi-experimental designs; only one study evaluated implementation strategy effectiveness.

Conclusions

While ERIC use in LMICs is rapidly growing, its application has not been consistent nor commonly used to test strategy effectiveness. Research in LMICs must better specify strategies and evaluate their impact on outcomes. Moreover, strategies that are tested need to be better specified, so they may be compared across contexts. Finally, strategies targeting policy-, systems-, and community-level determinants should be further explored.

^{**This abstract is posted with permission under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License**}

Authors:

✪ Open Access

Read the full text open access in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior

Authors:

✪ Open Access

Read the full text in the open access journal Implementation Science

Abstract:

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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✪ Open Access

Read the full text in the open access journal BMJ Open

Abstract:

Introduction

Methods and Analysis

Ethics and dissemination

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✪ Open Access

Read the full text in the open access journal Implementation Science Communications

Abstract:

Introduction

Methods

Discussion

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✪ Open Access

Read the full text open access in the journal Applied Ergonomics

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✪ Open Access

Read the full text in the open access journal Frontiers in Reproductive Health

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Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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✪ Open Access

Read the full text in the open access journal PLOS Global Public Health

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✪ Open Access

Read the full text open access in the journal Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health

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✪ Open Access

Read the full text in the open access journal Implementation Science

Abstract:

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Authors:

Subscription Required for Full Text Access

Read the full text in the subscription access journal Psychiatry Services