Implementation Research

Photo by Emily Morter on Unsplash Implementation Research (IR) is research that addresses implementation bottlenecks in order to deliver effective health care interventions. It aims to identify solutions to overcome implementation problems. This later may inform policy decisions and scale-up effective interventions, which can generate better health outcomes and strengthen the overall health system. Network Medicus Mundi Switzerland presents this IR guide, which is designed to support NGOs interested in applying IR within their projects. It includes the conceptual definition of IR and a practical step-by-step guide from the design to the dissemination of an IR study.

“Without implementation research we are at best committing valuable resources to implementation in the hope that things will work out.”

MMS IR_guide_Final Version_281020.pdf

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MMS/ISPM The study provides a qualitative overview of existing strategies, practices and capacities on how Implementation Research (IR) is done by members of the network Medicus Mundi Switzerland (MMS). MMS’s strategy describes the importance of IR for its network. MMS initiated a study about IR to provide (i) a qualitative overview and (ii) a learning process to promote NGO led research. IR is a scientific inquiry into questions concerning the act of fulfilling or carrying out a practice or an intervention. IR is a young, ambitious research field gaining importance in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.

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Member organizations of the Network Medicus Mundi Switzerland (MMS) work together to enhance Implementation Research (IR) within their organizations and to promote an NGO driven research in Switzerland’s international health cooperation. (Photo: Baaba Maal inspects failed corn crops in Mauritania/Oxfam International/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

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Medicus Mundi International (MMI) The MMI working group on Effective Health Cooperation was successfully launched in the past year debates on the future of international health cooperation. Are our methods and approaches in international health cooperation still timely? Why do we not succeed in improving the health of millions of people? The working group on "Effective Health Cooperation" aims to undertake a self-critical reflection on their work and funding new ways for analysing their data and experiences in order to improve the engagement of the right to health.

• www.medicusmundi.org

The Lancet Une étude dévoile que parmi 151 pays, même pas la moitié a mis en œuvre les directives relatives à la prévention des maladies non transmissibles (MNT) et à la lutte contre ces dernières recommandées par l’OMS. La pandémie de corona dégrade encore plus sévèrement la situation et souligne la nécessité, notamment dans les pays à revenu faible et moyen, d’investir dans la gestion des MNT comme partie intégrante des soins de santé primaires. Le présent rapport nomme trois raisons pour lesquelles la recherche en implémentation pourrait accélérer de manière décisive ce processus et vaincre plus rapidement les barrières en s’adaptant à chaque contexte local. Ainsi dès 2016, l’OMS a développé un guide et une «boîte à outils» sur la recherche en implémentation pour les MNT.

• The Lancet

(BMC) This supplement contains a collection of research articles with approaches and best practices from Asia and Africa on how to engage stakeholders in IR. How can IR help to scale up projects? How can theories of change be used to inform implementation of health systems research and innovation? How can participatory action research strenghten health managers’ capacity? How can participatory monitoring and evaluation (M&E) approaches be used to influence decision-making? Those and other questions are addressed in this supplement.

• health-policy-systems.biomedcentral.com