Open AccessLessons Learned about Implementing Research Evidence into Clinical Practice
Author(s) -
Hagedorn Hildi,
Hogan Mary,
Smith Jeffrey L.,
Bowman Candice,
Curran Geoffrey M.,
Espadas Donna,
Kimmel Barbara,
Kochevar Laura,
Legro Marcia W.,
Sales Anne E.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of general internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.746
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 1525-1497
pISSN - 0884-8734
DOI - 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00358.x
Subject(s) - medicine , formative assessment , implementation research , quality management , flexibility (engineering) , process management , health care , total quality management , quality (philosophy) , program evaluation , health services research , medline , best practice , nursing , operations management , public health , psychological intervention , business , lean manufacturing , management system , philosophy , statistics , mathematics , epistemology , public administration , political science , law , economics , economic growth , management
The mission of the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) quality enhancement research initiative (QUERI) is to enhance the quality of VHA health care by implementing clinical research findings into routine care. This paper presents lessons that QUERI investigators have learned through their initial attempts to pursue the QUERI mission. The lessons in this paper represent those that were common across multiple QUERI projects and were mutually agreed on as having substantial impact on the success of implementation. While the lessons are consistent with commonly recognized ingredients of successful implementation efforts, the examples highlight the fact that, even with a thorough knowledge of the literature and thoughtful planning, unexpected circumstances arise during implementation efforts that require flexibility and adaptability. The findings stress the importance of utilizing formative evaluation techniques to identify barriers to successful implementation and strategies to address these barriers.