Guide to using the Implementation Outcome Repository
This repository includes quantitative implementation outcome instruments that have been developed and validated for use in physical healthcare settings. The instruments were identified in a systematic review of the literature. The repository includes instruments that measure factors thought to influence implementation (e.g. the acceptability and feasibility of an intervention) and instruments that measure the effectiveness of implementation efforts (e.g. adoption, penetration). The repository will be updated regularly. If you have developed or used instruments currently not included in the repository, we would love to hear from you – please get in touch with us.
The repository currently includes 55 instruments, developed and validated in physical healthcare settings, measuring six core implementation outcomes included in the Implementation Outcome Taxonomy developed by Proctor et al – namely: acceptability, feasibility, appropriateness, adoption, penetration, and sustainability. We applied Proctor et al.’s definitions of implementation outcomes to assess the eligibility of instruments, although constructs did not always fit neatly into the defined outcomes. Where the description of constructs fitted more than one of Proctor et al.’s implementation outcomes (e.g. acceptability and feasibility), the instrument was classified according to the predominant outcome at item level, determined through a detailed analysis and count of each instrument item (e.g. if an instrument contained 10 items assessing acceptability and two items assessing feasibility, the instruments was categorised as an acceptability instrument). Where instruments measured additional constructs outside of Proctor et al.’s taxonomy, we classified according to the predominant eligible implementation outcome assessed. Where a predominant outcome was not obvious, we used the author’s own description of the instrument.
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Please note: the repository does not contain instruments measuring fidelity as such instruments tend to focus on specific interventions, thus significantly limiting their generalisability. Moreover, the repository does not contain any instruments measuring cost (i.e. the cost impact of an implementation effort) as no instruments were identified in the systematic review that the repository is based upon.
The repository allows you to:
- Search for instruments to assess an implementation outcome included in Proctor’s taxonomy
- View a summary of the instrument, the number of items, the country of application and the level of analysis
(e.g. patient, provider, organisation) - Examine the methodological quality assessment of the psychometric study, based on the COSMIN checklist
- View the psychometric quality assessment of each instrument, based on the ConPsy checklist
- See the usability rating of the instrument
- Where permission is granted, access both the psychometric study and the published instrument
The repository has been developed to allow implementation stakeholders (e.g. researchers, healthcare practitioners and managers, patients and service users) to search for quantitative implementation outcome instruments, that have been developed and validated in physical healthcare settings. As each implementation project is unique, we strongly encourage you to identify the implementation outcomes that are important to evaluate in your project before using the repository.
The repository is intended to be used by teams who are familiar with the concept of ‘implementation outcomes’ and wish to measure such outcomes. If you are new to the field of implementation science, we recommend you first read our Implementation Science Research Development (ImpRes) tool and guide to familiarise yourself with implementation outcomes and where they fit into an implementation study. ImpRes resources are available here.
The repository has been designed to allow you to search for instruments according to implementation outcome (e.g. acceptability, sustainability). We recommend that you identify and select an appropriate implementation outcome instrument(s) in collaboration with your research/project team. The team may include healthcare professionals, managers, researchers, patients and service users, and members of the public.
Each instrument has been methodologically and psychometrically appraised, and its usability evaluated. We hope this information will guide and help you to select a methodologically and psychometrically sound, as well as usable, instrument, to apply in your implementation project.
Where rights and permissions allow, you can download instruments and resources relevant to each instrument (e.g. peer-reviewed publication(s), user manuals and scoring guides).
All of the articles that are available in the repository are Open Access
The articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.