Original Research

Maternal Capabilities Are Associated with Child Caregiving Behaviors Among Women in Rural Zimbabwe Caregiving is often the frontline of implementation.  The authors defined “maternal capabilities” as factors that influence mothers’ caregiving ability (physical and mental health, social support, time, decision-making autonomy, gender norm attitudes, and mothering self-efficacy), and developed and tested survey tools to assess […]

Implementation research in LMICs—evolution through innovation This supplement  jointly produced by  Health Policy and Planning and the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research showcases innovations in implementation research that are enhancing its value, shaping its development and fuelling the growth of the field. Specifically, several papers focus on innovations that are occurring in LMIC […]

Implementing a social network intervention: can the context for its workability be created? A quasi-ethnographic study This ethnographic study sought to examine how networks and network formation influence the implementation of a self-management support intervention in a community setting. Authors: Ellis, J; Vassilev, I; James, E; Rogers, A

Development and evaluation of a digital, community-based intervention to reduce noncommunicable disease risk in a low-resource urban setting in Malaysia: a research protocol The paper describes the proposed research protocol fo a quasi-experimental study “The Better Health Programme Malaysia” with the aim of co-creating and developing a community-based digital intervention for low-income populations to enable […]

Development and use of a toolkit to facilitate implementation of an evidence-based intervention: a descriptive case study This paper describes the development and use of a toolkit to guide the implementation of an evidence-based intervention to identify and intervene for people with risky substance use. The final toolkit included 54 different tools selected or created […]

Lessons learned about the effective operationalization of champions as an implementation strategy: results from a qualitative process evaluation of a pragmatic trial While evidence shows that champions can effectively support implementation efforts in some circumstances, little has been reported on how to operationalize this role optimally in different settings, or on the specific pathways through […]

Rugged landscapes: complexity and implementation science The authors report the development of an agent-based computational model to explore how complexity hinders effective implementation. The model incorporates three distinct complexities faced in public health practice: dimensionality, ruggedness, and context-specificity. Agents in the model attempt to solve problems using one of three approaches—Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA), evidence-based interventions (EBIs), […]

Implementation and evaluation of nonclinical interventions for appropriate use of cesarean section in low- and middle-income countries: protocol for a multisite hybrid effectiveness-implementation type III trial The authors present the design of an intervention (QUALIty DECision-making—QUALI-DEC) with four components: (1) opinion leaders at heathcare facilities to improve adherence to best practices among clinicians, (2) CS […]

Exploring community perceptions in preparation for a randomised controlled trial of biofortified flour in Pakistan This paper presents formative research conducted in a remote, rural community in North West Pakistan, prior to commencing a randomised controlled trial to test the effectiveness of consuming zinc-biofortified wheat flour for alleviating zinc deficiency. It  generated rich, qualitative data […]

The TDR MOOC training in implementation research: evaluation of feasibility and lessons learned in Rwanda Background: Hypertension (HTN) affects nearly 1 billion people globally and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), HTN represents an unmet health care gap that can be addressed by strengthening national health care […]