Implementation science and translating evidence into practice — branching viva

Opening (candidate)

My first move is to reframe this from a dissemination problem into an implementation problem. Emailing and posting a guideline is dissemination — the passive spread of information — and it changes behaviour almost nothing. The gap is one of implementation: only 52% of eligible children receive the first antibiotic within an hour, and closing that needs active, tailored strategy. I would define implementation science as the scientific study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of research findings into routine care, then apply the knowledge-to-action cycle: identify the gap, adapt the bundle to context, assess the barriers with Cabana and CFIR, map each barrier to a strategy from the ERIC compilation, deploy with fidelity monitoring, measure the implementation outcomes with Proctor and the impact with RE-AIM, and plan sustainability from the outset — disaggregating reach by subgroup so an equity gap cannot hide. ^{[1] [9]}