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Closing the Science–Practice Gap in Implementation Before It Widens

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Implementation Science 3.0

Abstract

As the field of implementation has rapidly evolved, distinct implementation science and practice components have emerged. Siloing based on professional identities is beginning to occur, with a lack of adequate opportunities for implementation intermediaries, practice leaders, policy leaders, and researchers to interact and collaborate. This chapter details how the field of implementation is in danger of following a path reminiscent of the one previously traveled by intervention science – a path that has led to a longstanding divide between science and practice. We present a training agenda intended to curtail the emerging science–practice gap in implementation and argue that the gap can be minimized by opportunities for implementation stakeholders to participate in (a) pragmatic research, (b) team science, and (c) interprofessional education. Recommendations are made for professional development opportunities that include these components to address the science to practice gap in implementation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA

    Aaron R. Lyon, Katherine A. Comtois & Suzanne E. U. Kerns

  2. University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, Denver, CO, USA

    Suzanne E. U. Kerns

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA

    Sara J. Landes

  4. Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System VISN 16 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Little Rock, AR, USA

    Sara J. Landes

  5. Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA

    Cara C. Lewis

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  1. Aaron R. Lyon
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  2. Katherine A. Comtois
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  3. Suzanne E. U. Kerns
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  4. Sara J. Landes
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  5. Cara C. Lewis
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Correspondence to Aaron R. Lyon .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. European Implementation Collaborative, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Bianca Albers

  2. Monash University, Clayton, Australia

    Aron Shlonsky

  3. Centre for Evidence and Implementation, Melbourne, Australia

    Robyn Mildon

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Lyon, A.R., Comtois, K.A., Kerns, S.E.U., Landes, S.J., Lewis, C.C. (2020). Closing the Science–Practice Gap in Implementation Before It Widens. In: Albers, B., Shlonsky, A., Mildon, R. (eds) Implementation Science 3.0. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03874-8_12

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