Dr. Skye Barbic has just been announced as part of the first cohort of Implementation Science Institute Scholars. This is an exciting new program that will mentor and connect researchers to help ensure their research findings go beyond academic institutions and are effectively supported into everyday practice.
The divide between research and reality
Research findings that are poorly implemented into practice do not produce the expected health benefits that we might see in research conditions. That’s where implementation science comes in.
Implementation science is the scientific study of methods and strategies that facilitate the uptake of evidence-based practice and research into regular use by practitioners and policymakers.
The field of implementation science seeks to systematically close the gap between what we know and what we do (often referred to as the know-do gap) by identifying and addressing the barriers that slow or halt the uptake of proven health interventions and evidence based practices.
University of Washington
The forefront of Implementation Science in British Columbia
The UBC Knowledge Exchange and SFU Knowledge Mobilization units, in partnership with UBC Health, developed the Implementation Science Training Initiative specifically to increase British Columbia’s research capacity in implementation science.
The Implementation Science Training Initiative is a two-year training program targeted towards health researchers who are interested in or embarking on projects that encompass a direct need to implement findings from their research into the healthcare field.
Scholars will participate in a range of activities to develop core competencies in implementation science. They will receive mentorship from leaders in this area, and will also have the chance to learn from other recognized implementation science experts.
A new standard to improve outcomes for young people
Involvement in this scheme will enrich Dr. Skye Barbic’s research and positively affect health outcomes for young people.
There have been an increasing number of young people in emergency departments presenting with concerns about their metal health and substance use, yet currently no standard of care exists to connect young people to important youth-centred health services after their visit. Over the past three years, Dr. Barbic’s team has been working to assess and create a standard procedure that can be followed to provide care for these young people and connect them with vital resources.
Dr. Barbic will use implementation science to understand the steps that will be needed to introduce and integrate the new standard into emergency departments in BC. Her research team will then measure and understand the effects of the change on young people’s health outcomes and their experience of using these services.
Image credits: OSOT, SFU-UBC Implementation Science Training Initiative logo, young people on balcony (Jon Tyson/Unsplash).