Implementation Science Concentration
J. Lucian (Luke) Davis, M.D., M.A.S., Director
Donna Spiegelman, Sc.D., Director
Implementation science is an emerging interdisciplinary field that focuses on improving the adoption, delivery, and sustainability of proven health interventions in routine clinical and public health practice. Using various methods from the clinical and population sciences and the engineering and social sciences, implementation science seeks to produce and disseminate generalizable knowledge about how to make public health programs more effective, efficient, and equitable. The curriculum outlined below will enable students to build competence across the four methodological areas described below.
Teaching implementation science aligns well with the School of Public Health’s mission to link science and society. The concentration builds on the Master’s in Public Health core curriculum in biostatistics, epidemiology, ethics, health equity, and health policy, and complements each department’s course requirements. It also capitalizes on implementation science expertise at the Center for Methods in Implementation Science (CMIPS) and in other parts of the school by integrating existing courses as electives. Graduates will be well-prepared to pursue high-impact careers in implementation research or practice, areas with rapidly growing demand in the US and globally.
CONCENTRATION Requirements
- Fulfillment of all degree and departmental requirements
- Successful completion of all core courses and four electives in accordance with the distribution requirements below. Courses taken for credit in the concentration may include classes required by the student’s home academic department for the M.P.H. degree
- Completion of a thesis incorporating implementation science (optional but encouraged)
Core Courses
| All of the following implementation science methods courses | ||
| EMD 533 | Implementation Science | 1 |
| CDE 553 | Implementation Science to Address Chronic Diseases: Global Health Case Studies | .5 |
| PUBH 521 | Applied Practice Experience | 0 |
| PUBH 560 | Implementation Science Seminar (Fall) | 0 |
| PUBH 561 | Implementation Science Seminar (Spring) | 0 |
Elective Courses
| At least one of the following quantitative methods courses | ||
| BIS 628 | Longitudinal and Multilevel Data Analysis | 1 |
| BIS 630 | Applied Survival Analysis | 1 |
| CDE 516 | Principles of Epidemiology II | 1 |
| CDE 582 | Health Outcomes Research: Matching the Right Research Question to the Right Data | 1 |
| EMD 582 | Political Epidemiology | 1 |
| S&DS 5630 | Multivariate Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences | 1 |
| At least one of the following qualitative and mixed methods courses | ||
| SBS 574 | Developing a Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Intervention | 1 |
| SBS 580 | Qualitative Research Methods in Public Health | 1 |
| SBS 593 | Community-Based Participatory Research in Public Health | 1 |
| At least one of the following policy methods courses | ||
| CDE 650 | Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine and Health Care | 1 |
| EHS 544 | Climate Equity and Health Policy Methods | 1 |
| EMD 580 | Reforming Health Systems: Using Data to Improve Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries | 1 |
| HPM 557 | Evidence-Based Decision-Making in Global Health | 1 |
| HPM 570 | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Decision-Making | 1 |
| HPM 575 | Evaluation of Global Health Policies and Programs | 1 |
| HPM 583 | Methods in Health Services Research | 1 |
Competencies
Implementation Science Methods Competencies
- Define implementation science
- Identify and appraise evidence-based interventions to improve disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment
- Assess the barriers and facilitators influencing the adoption, implementation, and sustainability of evidence-based interventions
- Explain methodological approaches to enhance the adoption, implementation, and sustainability of evidence-based interventions in routine practice
- Develop implementation science research and program proposals
- Critically appraise implementation science proposals and published studies
Quantitative Methods Competencies
- Apply and critically evaluate the use of quantitative methods to design, adapt, and deliver health interventions, implementation strategies, and policies
- Determine the mechanisms and contextual factors that mediate and moderate the effects of health interventions, implementation strategies, and policies
Qualitative and Mixed Methods Competencies
- Employ appropriate qualitative and mixed methods to design and evaluate implementation science programs and studies
- Critically assess the use of qualitative and mixed methods to elicit shareholder experiences and perspectives in the planning, delivery, and receipt of health interventions, implementation strategies, and policies
Policy Methods Competencies
- Apply policy translation methods to plan, evaluate, and disseminate health interventions, implementation strategies, and policies
- Critically evaluate evidence synthesis, program evaluation, and economic evaluation methods to inform the planning, assessment, and dissemination of health interventions, implementation strategies, and policies