Synthesising our knowledge on implementation 

Implementation is a common research theme across members of the Collaboration for Enhanced Research Impact (CERI), with CREs expected to achieve impact through facilitating implementation of their research findings.

Our new knowledge synthesis provides evidence and tools for policy makers and practitioners to support successful implementation. We look at how to select policies or programs most likely to be effective, the best ways of delivery to realise their true potential, and how to sustain interventions long-term.

Our findings suggest that assessing scalability from the start is critical for enhancing implementation success, and we offer key steps to support the scaling and adaptation of evidence-based programs to local context and priority populations.

Implementation research aims to bridge the gap between research and practice by generating evidence that can be used to improve the delivery and effectiveness of interventions in real-world settings. This knowledge synthesis will assist policy makers and practitioners in their efforts to improve chronic disease prevention across the program lifecycle.

Professor Luke Wolfenden

The knowledge synthesis draws on the body of work generated by the Prevention Centre and CERI, presenting evidence on a number of implementation topics identified by policy agencies as issues of particular interest including models of research partnership, intervention adaptation and scale up, intervention sustainability, and evaluation of programs and using this data to improve implementation. Read the knowledge synthesis and summary report here.

CERI collaborates with prevention researchers for knowledge products and syntheses that meet the needs of policy and practice partners, as well as enhancing knowledge mobilisation and supporting capacity building.

We look forward to contributing to and enhancing our knowledge of implementation research with a number of projects underway by the Prevention Centre and CERI members including:

• A study by the NCOIS (funded by the Prevention Centre) applying learning health systems methods in order to understand how barriers to the implementation of chronic disease prevention programs change over time.
• A study by RE-FRESH (funded by the Prevention Centre) co-creating implementation tools and training to supporting retailers and health promotion practitioners to improve the healthiness of food retail environments in healthcare settings.
• A study by the NCOIS (funded by the Prevention Centre) to explore stakeholders’ perspectives on the optimal way to translate preventive care guidelines into community-based mental health care.
• CRE HiPP has several implementation projects focusing on models of care and optimising health outcomes in pregnancy developed in partnership with Monash Health.
• CRE Prevention of Falls Injuries have capitalised on the clinician-researcher partnership model and have a number of clinician PhD students working within their CRE on implementation projects.
• CRE Prevention of Falls Injuries are scaling up the Canadian “Choose to Move” program to increase physical activity in older adults. The team will also adapt the program for Arabic speakers as a priority population.
• A body of work being led by the NCOIS aims to develop a consensus driven framework for how policy and practice bodies can achieve sustainability of evidence-based interventions.
• A NCOIS review of models to guide adaptations of evidence-based interventions to meet the needs of priority populations.

Our Emerging Leaders Network will be given an overview of the knowledge synthesis process and report at an upcoming webinar on 20 March 2024. Register here

About CERI

The Collaboration for Enhanced Research Impact (CERI) is a joint initiative between the Prevention Centre and several NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence, established in June 2020 to enhance the profile and impact of chronic disease prevention in Australia. We are working together to find alignment in the policy and practice implications of our work and to develop shared communications across our various projects and participating centres.

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