The Center for Implementation Research

What is Implementation Science?

Implementation science (IS) is the study of methods to promote systematic uptake of research findings and other evidence-based (EB) practices into routine clinical care, thus improving health care quality and effectiveness.

The Center for Implementation Research (CIR) began as a joint entity between the colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine at UAMS in 2014, and in partnership with the UAMS Translational Research Institute. Over the last eight years, CIR has assisted and mentored faculty, residents and students from the colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Health Professions and Public Health in the development of implementation related projects across multiple disciplines.

CIR’s goals are to:

Develop and test strategies to facilitate the uptake and sustained use of evidence-based practices across a wide range of health care contexts
Support integration of evidence-based practices in community settings and UAMS programs
Evaluate the effectiveness of promising practices while preparing for their future implementation by simultaneously documenting barriers and facilitators to implementation
Nurture the development of investigators, residents and students interested in implementation and implementation science.

CIR is grounded in the principles of community-based participatory research, with “community” being broadly defined. Projects are being developed and enacted in partnership with multiple stakeholders –e.g., patients, health care practitioners, health care managers, payers, and/or policymakers. The mix of partners varies by scope and needs of each project.

Implementation Science Scholars Program

The Implementation Science Scholar Program funds faculty interested in learning more about how to implement new practice guidelines and/or other implementation or de-implementation approaches that will improve medical care. Click here to learn more about the program.

Graduate Certificate in Implementation Science

The goal of this certificate is to train learners from various academic backgrounds and focus areas (Community-Based Participatory Research, Healthcare Administration, Informatics, Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Policy, and Research Methods) in implementation science methods and approaches to assist them in implementing evidence-based practices (EBP) in various topic areas and to study how best to support the implementation of EBP. Click here to learn more about the certificate.